Wanted: Phone, Found: Love?
by Dawnie'B
Summary: AU. When Dawn lost her phone she expected nothing except some scolding. Instead, that lost led Misty and she to meet two boys very close yet very far away. Can meeting someone through a different identity profoundly change the relationship shared? In addition, Ash wants to figure Misty out, but that comes with a challenge. PS, IS, CS. Full summary in prolouge.
1. Prolouge

Hi! Well this is my first fan fiction story, please correct me for any mistakes you find. This is AU by the way:D

**Real name of who's writing/wrote the message**(what the person who receives the message sees as a caller ID)

I rewrote this- 12/27/11:)

_A girl with hopes of reuniting._

_A redhead with a bitter past._

_A brunette who sweared to never love, but when she did her heart shattered._

_A boy with a secret that no one else knows._

_The frozen heart that remains in denial_

_The boys behind the phone screen._

_The music that brings back memories._

_...And to one boy, the girl he can't seem to figure out._

x-x-x

"Thanks sir! I'm so hungry I could eat you right now," joked Dawn cheerily. The man chuckled nervously, his voice seemed awkward, the laugh seemed forced in order to maintain politeness: acting. Dawn graded it a C, he could fool a good amount of people but not her.

She sat down by herself in a table with her hamburger tray and water bottle. Her black shoes made a clicking noise as she walked to pick up some napkins. She placed her pink iphone next to her on the table. As she ate she constantly reminded herself not to loose this one, her second phone. Her first was somewhere along the Twinleaf Park, cancelled and broken. If anyone found it, the phone would be as useless as garbage to them.

When she left, she checked to make sure her hat still rested in her head, her silver star necklace sparkled as it touched the sun. The phone she reminded herself to bring along rested lonesomely.

Fifteen minutes later a boy saw the messy table and a pink iphone on it. He picked it up curiously and walked out- deciding to look through to see if he can find who's phone it was.

x-x-x-

For Misty, what started off as a nice day went downhill fast. As she ran across the trail, she noticed a certain boy wrapping his arms around a girl, kissing her as if she were choking and needed CPR. Misty gagged, the kiss looked disgusting, it was then she noticed who the boy was: her boyfriend, Gary Oak. She ran off faster than the bunny hopping along next to her. Gary caught his girlfriend run off, he promised to see the girl he kissed next time and then ran off after her, hoping to mend the relationship.

"It's not what you think." said Gary. His eyes were filled with warmth, love, and kindness, but Misty knew better than that. She saw him kiss the girl with no hesitation, he initiated the kiss, and he now dared say she did not just see what she just saw?

"Then what _were_ you doing there Gary Oak? Don't make up an over-used lie about how she kissed you or you were practicing CPR. I practically saw the whole thing," said Misty. _Must not cry, he's only a stupid guy. A stupid guy I loved…or thought I loved._

"But the one I love is you. Misty...please! I'm sorry," apologized Gary.

The redhead turned to look at her _ex_-boyfriend. She tried to fight the tears that would come down, she thought she loved him. He was her first kiss, her first boyfriend, her first love. Her eyes gave him a cold glance that showed a fiery look that also seemed to contain ice.

"No…you're not sorry. Bye Oak," said Misty shakily. She ran home fighting the tears that threatened to fall. She hated crying, especially over a boy. Misty considered herself to be a strong woman who would not let anyone break her. She slipped her red and white sneakers off and immediately jumped into her comforting flowery bed. The last time she cried was seventh grade year; and the reason why was more acceptable than now.

"I really am worthless, crying over a douche-bag," said Misty as she wiped the tears off her eyes. She placed pictures that her friend Drew took of Gary and her where they just so happened to be pictured together- on top of her bed. She ripped them up- one by one. She started grinning a bit through the tears as each paper shredded fell into pieces. She wasn't sadistic, but boy did enjoy seeing his face ripped into shreds just like how her heart was shattered.

"Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars…I could really use a wish right now wish right now wish right now..."

Misty picked up her red phone and answered immediately. She made a mental note to herself to change the ring tone. Airplanes was the song she and Gary first danced to.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Mist?" said a male voice. Misty immediately recognized the boy as her friend Drew.

"D-Drew?" said Misty.

"No it's Dawn," said Drew sarcastically. "What's up?"

"Nothing you'd be interested in," said Misty. She didn't want to disturb her friends with her problems. Well her best friends, she only had two friends: Dawn and Drew. They weren't popular at all, but none of them cared. Drew was suspicious why Gary asked Misty out a few months ago. She remembered snapping at him-telling him to more open-minded and less-judging. But now she knew how right he was…

"If it's Gary-"

"Yes," said Misty.

"What did he do? If you shred even one tear he won't be seeing the sunshine tomorrow,"

"He..k-kissed..I saw him k-kissing another girl in the park today. I didn't cry, I'm stronger than that Drew," said Misty. She tried her best to imitate a strong, self-assured voice.

"He made you cry didn't he? That-" Drew stopped himself. It wasn't the time to say "I told you so" to a girl who's heart was just broken. He couldn't understand how Gary did it; Misty was a girl who was constantly on alert and wary of mostly everyone. She was stubborn however; every time Drew brought up the "look at how fast he moves in relationships" argument she battled against it with a lie Gary told her.

"Don't," said Misty gently.

"Why?" said Drew grumpily.

"I'm just going to forget about him. That's all.." said Misty.

"I'm coming over, are your sisters home?" asked Drew.

"No, they barely are…" said Misty. Her older sisters- beautiful, talented, loved, and popular; words that nobody used to describe Misty. Gary never called her beautiful, he's called her hot before but never beautiful. Despite the beauty and fame her sisters produced, they were vain and people you'd hate to meet.

"Even if they were I'm still coming over. I'll help you burn the pictures," said Drew. He shook his head, "It's a shame that such great landscapes and sceneries were ruined by him,"

"Okay, if you are that bored you can," said Misty. She closed her red phone and continued to cut some pictures. She decided to talk to her other best friend, Dawn Berlitz about anything that crossed her friend's mind. She would rather hear about jeans and scarfs than the name Gary Oak ever again.

x-x-x

_Hey Dawn, what's up_? Misty looked at the text message again before sending it off. She thought it was good enough to send. Drew shook his head and grabbed her red phone. He rewrote the message- including more details about a certain auburn haired boy.

"Hey Dawn, it's Drew in Misty's house. Look, her boyfriend cheated on her. She caught him kissing another girl. Can you come over soon?" read Misty. Drew reached his hand out and clicked the send button.

"I was trying to forget about _it_, Drew," said Misty.

"Dawn would try and figure out revenge, probably better than my idea," Drew tried to reason. He smirked remembering what happened when his relationship failed, he was glad Brianna and him never kissed.

"How am I supposed to know where you live?" Drew read. He looked at the text message again to make sure he read right.

"Is she high?" said Misty. Drew typed in Misty's question and waited for the response.

_Ash(Dawn):No, it's illegal. I'm sixteen years old and this isn't my phone at all._

"What on earth..., did she lose her phone again?" said Drew.

"Obviously she did- or this must be a joke." said Misty.

_Misty(MW): This is a joke right Dawn? LOL?_ Misty wrote.

_Ash(Dawn):Who is Dawn? This isn't a joke, I found an iphone with a pink cover and I was trying to locate the owner._

"Whatever you do don't arrange a meeting. This guy could be an old pervert who stole the phone from Dawn," said Drew.

_Misty(MW):_ _Likely story. Listen here, if Dawn happens to be missing I know who to tell the cops about. How do I know you aren't a pedophile who abducted her? _

"I'm not going to meet this guy Captain Obvious," Misty said. She was smarter than that. She knew the possibilities of what could happen if she decides to meet some mysterious person. She then thought of her friend Dawn Berlitz….

Drew took out his silver smartphone and dialed Dawn's home phone number. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the cheery bluenette say hello. Misty immediately snatched the phone out of Drew's hand, wanting to inform her friend of what happened.

"Dawn, someone found your new iphone," said Misty.

"I lost it?" said Dawn. "Oh you're right, it isn't in my bag. Oh my god it isn't in my bag! My mom isn't going to be happy about this, I lost my first phone already!"

"Calm down," said Drew. "No need to worry, right?"

"You're right, no need to worry!" said Dawn confidently. If it weren't for her acting skills she would have shrieked nervously.

"Whenever you say that I happen to worry the most," said Misty. Drew and her were the closest ones to finding out when she was acting.

"How did you guys know that I lost my phone?" asked Dawn curiously.

"Long story…Misty caught Gary kissing some girl at the park. She called me up and told me about it. I texted you from her phone about it and someone texted back. He claimed he was trying to find the owner. I suggest we don't go and try to meet him. It's too risky," said Drew.

"Gary? Where is he!" said Dawn. Drew and Misty shared concerned, wide-eyed looks. Misty lost her temper often, Drew got used to it. But when Dawn did there was a reason to be afraid. One, she doesn't let anyone mess with her friends. Two, she will confront the person about it- when Brianna cheated on Drew, Misty and Dawn planned on having a little "talk" with her. Misty later told Drew she had no chance to speak as Dawn "took care of it".

"I don't know where he is, he was at the park," said Misty. She checked her phone and saw the alert of a new message.

_Ash(Dawn):Really kid? I'm the pervert here? I have no interest in meeting up with you. My mom told me not to meet people online (this counts). You could be the predator here._

Misty tightened her fist, she did it sometimes to control her anger. "That thing! He dare say that to me? I am not a predator, I was a concerned friend who acted on human instincts alone!"

"C-Calm down," said Dawn.

"The guy called you a kid and a predator in the same text, don't they undo each other?" said Drew, hoping that would ease her.

"Yeahh! Look, he really didn't pick his words right," said Dawn calmly.

"You take this!" said Misty. She placed the red phone roughly in Drew's hand.

Drew(MW): _You really know how to upset my friend. You know, she went through a bad break_-_up today with a playboy I knew was bad for her from the start. Yet she stubbornly continued seeing him...I would laugh along with you if that didn't happen. I've already refrained myself from saying I told you so to her._

"I AM NOT UPSET!" said Misty.

"Oh really? Hon, I'm not there but I can tell your blood is boiling," said Dawn.

"You're right Dawn, it is," said Drew. The green haired boy smirked and checked the phone to see a new message flash up.

_Ash(Dawn):I'm not the teasing type, but that was fun. Your friend may have temper issues but she does not deserve to be cheated on. Whoever did that must already regret it. I'm happy to see a girl who is more concerned over her friend's well-being then meeting this mysterious man. Do not fret though, I am not a pedophile._

"ANGER ISSUES? That does it!" said Misty.

Drew shook his head, "Read the next lines,"

"Oh…well…that was surprisingly nice," Misty answered.

"I think Cinderella man seems to like you already," said Dawn over the phone. A small giggle escaped the bluenette's lips.

"We don't even know each other! And Cinderella man?" said Misty.

"His new nickname. We don't know who he is so we will now refer to him as Cinderella man," said Dawn cheerfully.

"If he heard that he wouldn't be so happy. Who would like to be called Cinderella man?" said Drew.

"Oh well, to us he's Cinderella man…since I'm not in the mood to think of a better name," said Misty.

And thus, Cinderella Man was born. But who was the mysterious guy? Those questions pondered in the minds of Drew, Dawn, and of coarse Misty.

Cinderella is most commonly known as the soft, gentle, and kind girl who never complains about work and lives with her evil step-family. It could also refer to how mysterious the girl was to the prince. However, in the end the prince uncovered the identity behind the mysterious girl. Would they get a chance to do the same? Cinderella and the prince got married and lived happily ever after. Would one of them perhaps be the prince or princess to the mysterious man? They didn't know what events would play out, however all three knew that won't be the last time the mysterious Cinderella man and the three talk.

Just how close could he be?

...

A/N: Hi guys! Wow, I used a lot of dialogue. I usually don't write so much speaking lines. This is the prologue. The real story will begin next chapter. Also, I split up the "girl clique" and "boy clique" to like blend it together a little. Some may ask why and how I separated them:

Personality and how each can contribute to the story. Their possible interactions in this helped with that also. Characters are mostly in character, I tried to add more into them or see what would happen if and such. As this is AU, no pokemon contests and battles etc. You wonder, if you take out the rival complexion what would the outcome be? Pokemon and such played a major part in each of the character's personality as I've noticed. I want to keep them as close to their canon as possible considering how they are older and a bit more mature than their ten year old selves

_A/N: Till next time!:D_

_-Dawn. _

_LOL! That's actually my name by the way;)_

_And R&R? (What does that mean by the way? XD. I see it on so much fan fictions at the end)_


	2. The princess meets her prince charming?

Hi! Sorry for delay!  Thank you so much to all those who reviewed, favorited, and alerted:)

x-x-x

"Did you finish packing yet Misty?" asked Dawn. The redhead closed her phone, dashing to the pile of clothes that laid on her bed. She immediately started to pack her belongings into the luggage and boxes.

_Summer went by too quickly_. Misty sighed, she has been talking to the mysterious Cinderella man for two months and a half. The trio never found the boy, they assumed he would be somewhere in Twinleaf Town. And now, they had to go back to boarding school in Petalburg City. The only excitement she had about going back was One; getting away from Gary who graduated in June. Two, being far away from her sisters. And three, the home she shared with Dawn and Drew. She enjoyed their presence rather than her family's.

"Texting your_ boyfriend_ again I see," said Dawn, emphasizing the word boyfriend, she wore a yellow tank top with a orange tank top over that one. She had a silver star necklace around her neck and a jean skirt that went four or three inches above her knee. Her white flip flops completed the whole summer look. The bluenette raised her white sunglasses out of her eyes. Dawn's blue hair was up in a high ponytail.

"He's not my boyfriend," said Misty defensively. Cinderella man and her have become very close over the summer, he was like a long-lost friend. While the two had numerous stupid arguments they both remained friends at the end of the day.

"Come on Mist, pack up and you two can return to whatever you guys are doing," said Dawn. The bluenette grinned and sat on Misty's blue and black bed.

"It's not what you're thinking Dawn," said Misty.

"Must be nice to have a phone." said Dawn with a sigh. The bluenette's mother refused to pay for another phone if Dawn was just going to loose it. So, Dawn got a summer job at the mall in her favorite shop. In one week, she would be able to buy phone.

"One week, just one week and you'll get it, don't worry." said Misty. "No need to worry right?" she added.

"Yeah! No need to worry." said Dawn confidently. She was going to get a phone, she was never going to loose it. She was confident and optimistic about getting the phone when she first started, nothing was going to stop her now.

Misty opened up her phone and read the message, she slightly giggled. Dawn looked at the redhead oddly, she peeked and gasped- covering her open mouth with her white nail polished finger. Cinderellla man texted Misty a picture of her ex-boyfriend Gary falling into the pool. A girl neither of them have seen before looked like she was the only who pushed Gary in.

_Misty: Wow, how did you know he was the guy?_ Misty texted.

"You two should meet up, you've known each other a good amount of time." said Dawn. The bluenette knew that the mysterious Cinderella man made her friend happy.

"But I still don't know...him," said Misty. She wanted to meet the man, her third friend- her heart demanded it. Her brain and common sense fought against her heart's desires. She was caught between her heart and mind.

"True," said Dawn.

Misty and Dawn continued to pack up the redhead's belongings. After forty-five minutes the two finished. Misty grabbed two bottles of ice cold water, she handed one to Dawn and one for herself. The redhead undid her low ponytail, she tied her medium length hair into a more higher position.

"Don't you have air conditioning?" asked Dawn curiously.

"Yeah, but it broke. That's why _they_ are staying in a hotel." Misty grumbled.

"And they left you?" asked Dawn.

"Yes." said Misty. She picked her phone up to check for any messages.

_Cinderella man: Gary Oak? I didn't know he was the boy who broke your heart. I know him, he used to be my neighbor in Pallet Town which is far away from where you live. He broke my friend's heart however. Last year, I made an annual visit to Twinleaf Town, my friend caught his attention and they started to date. She barely saw him so they talked through emails and phone calls. She found out he was cheating on her with some girl a few months ago._

Dawn and Misty exchanged looks. They read each other's mind but looking at each other.

"Oh my god…" said Misty.

"You were the girl…unless there were more." said Dawn. She felt sorry for Cinderella man's friend, she understood how the mysterious man could be upset. Dawn remembered the pain Misty felt when she saw Gary kissing the girl at the park. The bluenette knew that Misty would feel very bad if she was the girl Gary was cheating with at the time- even if Misty had no idea.

"I..have to tell him." said Misty bravely. She couldn't lie to a friend, she wasn't like that. She texted her message- hoping that Cinderella man won't dislike her.

_Misty(MW):I….unless there were more girls involved then I was the girl he was cheating with. But I didn't know he had a girlfriend back then! He seemed and acted single, he never told me so I accepted and we dated. I'm sorry, I know how much it hurts to find out someone you love is cheating on you…_

"No need to apologize, you didn't know. He messed with you both." said Dawn.

"You're right, he'll understand..hopefully." said Misty.

Dawn sighed, "Listen to me, he will understand, say it- no scream it!"

"He will understand." said Misty in a normal tone.

"Louder!"

"He WILL understand!" said Misty.

"Good!" said Dawn. She looked through Misty's phone and saw the new message come in, she gave Misty a reassuring smile and handed the phone to her.

_Cinderella man: He tricked you both, don't apologize kid. I'm sure you would've dumped the douche-bag if you found out he had a girlfriend._

"You were right, I shouldn't have worried." admitted Misty.

"You did nothing wrong- kid." said Dawn. She giggled at the fact that Misty didn't seem to mind Cinderella man calling her a kid.

"I'm not a kid! Who called me- wait I see! HE CALLED ME A KID?"

_Misty: I'm not a kid! Yeah I would've dumped him- DON'T EVER call me a kid again! I'm sixteen years old!_

"My my Misty, took you long enough?" said Dawn.

"You've turned into Drew." said Misty.

_x-x-x_

"She gets so worked up." said Ash. He smiled childishly at the message the mysterious MW sent him.

"Is that all you have been doing all summer?" asked Paul. The purple-haired man slid a black t-shirt over himself and went over to see what his "friend" is doing.

"Why do you care, we're not even friends." said Ash. He covered the phone screen with his left hand. But, Paul already saw a message written on it.

"We're not best friends, but we are friends- after all, we live together during school." replied Paul.

"Because my mom is your godmother. Just leave me alone." said Ash. Paul groaned and grabbed the phone out of Ash's hand- he read the message from someone labeled MW. He noticed the message was addressed to someone named Dawn- yet it was for Ash. Paul wondered if Ash perhaps posed as a girl.

"Dawn?" asked Paul.

"It's not my phone, I found it while I visited Twinleaf. It belonged to MW's friend named Dawn." said Ash.

"And you've been talking to her since then? Every time May saw you she claimed that you would check that phone constantly. She and I are still very surprised you got a phone, but I can see that you did not purchase it yourself." asked Paul. Ash opened his mouth to defend himself- but it was no use. He had nothing to be guilty of. Except taking a phone back to Pallet Town that did not belong to him- however, MW did not want to arrange a meeting for him to give it back. He also heard that Dawn was getting a new phone soon.

"So you have, now, have you met this MW or her friend Dawn?" asked Paul. Ash tightened his fist, he hated being treated like a kid.

"No, I haven't." said Ash.

"Dawn sent you a message." said Paul. He read the message, a small chuckle escaped his mouth. That was the closest thing to laughter that Ash knows of. Paul usually had a serious, scowling, and unapproachable look. His voice was cold and stern.

"What did it say?" asked Ash.

"Hey Cinderella man, guess what? MW said I've turned into this guy we know who is a bit of a downer. Oh and I will get my phone soon, you can keep mine as long as the number runs. Your future sister-in-law Dawn- because me and MW are so close we are practically sisters," read Paul. Ash read the message and compared Dawn's happy tone to Paul's cold one.

"I was wondering why she sounded so cold and serious, it was just your voice Paul." joked Ash.

"I'm not the one called Cinderella man." replied Paul. He sent a cold dagger towards Ash. Then, Paul did something that surprised Ash- he started to write something back.

_Paul(Unknown):Woman, Cinderella man is pathetic but that name labels him as a bigger pussy than he already is. Calm down troublesome.  
><em>

"I'm not a pussy!" protested Ash. He hated how Paul made insults so mature and serious- compared to the childish tone of Gary Oak. But he did prefer Paul's coldness, while it may surprise most- the purple-haired cold man is a very loyal friend. While the guy has never had a relationship before he seemed like someone you'd want to be with if you can melt his heart. Now, the question was if his heart can melt.

"You are annoying, immature, and in denial- accept it." said Paul.

_Dawn(MW):I am not troublesome! I have a name and its D-A-W-N._

Paul rolled his eyes- but on the inside he grinned . If the so-called MW was easy to get worked up, then her friend must be easy also- if not easier.

_Paul(Unknown):I don't recall names of those I find to be trash, troublesome. What is your name again- woman? -P_

Paul wasn't as cold as people figured him out to be, he liked a good sense of humor every now and then. He didn't laugh of coarse, but he thought it was funny. He never felt the need to smile or laugh, life is too short after all. Those small things weren't important to him.

_Dawn(MW): Jerk, my name is D-A-W-N, I'm not trash!  
><em>

"You're upsetting her Paul, wow…she reacted worst than MW not so long ago." said Ash. He observed Paul- he wondered if perhaps the onyx-haired man wasn't always emotionless- it was not possible. _He would look much better if he smiled perhaps. No homo!_

"Stop looking at me like that Ketchum." ordered Paul. His eyes hardened even more than usual.

_Paul(unknown):How creative, what else can you come up with? Jerk, bastard, son of a bitch? You need some creativity princess. -P_

_Dawn(MW):Princess isn't creative either._

_Paul(Unknown):Now you're just running out of ideas- P_

_Dawn(MW): Whatever, you jerk! ._.  
><em>

_Paul(Unknown) Now you're using useless faces made out of symbols to show anger? Troublesome…- P_

_Misty(MW): This is MW….hey um "unknown" she can talk to you another time. She isn't in the mood right now. -MW_

"Use your own phone." said Ash. He grabbed "his" from Paul's hand. "Now, why did you really come here?"

The said-to-be emotionless man sighed, took his own phone out and sent a message to the "troublesome" princess. He turned to look at Ash, the raven haired boy felt chills go down his spine as Paul sent another one of his signature daggers towards him.

"You've been trying to help May get over Gary, correct?" asked Paul.

"Yeah, why?" answered Ash. He started wondering when the last time the two of them had talked.

May was a close friend of his, she was sweet, innocent, and shared a similar liking of food with Ash. She was like his younger sister, they did after all, know each other since the two were children.

"I am now certain that your relationship with her is strictly platonic and nothing leaning towards love. Towards your view however, I think you are unintentionally leading her on." said Paul.

_Leading her on? No way..its May. She's like my sister, she wouldn't think that. She's just been broken because of Gary. I mean..its normal…MW was broken up, her friends got her over it though. And me….Paul's just saying something to mess with me._ Ash thought.

"You seem surprised, you do claim to have a sibling like relationship. I find you to be the gay best friend compared to a brother…but that is my uncared about honest opinion."

"Shut up Paul." Ash hollered.

"But what I'm trying to make a point of is she probably thinks you love her. As cliché as it may seem many girls wish to fall in love like that. Many have such fantasies where they meet a sweet guy, or to marry their childhood friend. May is one of those girls, you are obviously flattered with MW a little. May seemed very hurt to see you talk to someone mysterious whom she doesn't know. I am neither your best friend nor hers, I just want to speak of something intelligent from observation." said Paul.

"You just like hearing yourself talk." Ash pointed out.

"That is non of your concern Ketchum." said Paul.

"Wait…MW…the girl…she..Gary…cheated.."

"Speak the English language properly, that is a disgrace." Paul chastised.

This isn't grammar class Mr. Know-it-all. Ash was tempted to say but restrained himself. "MW dated Gary, she caught him kissing another girl and broke up with him. But, they got together when he was with May. MW had no idea that he had a girlfriend though. She apologized." said Ash.

Paul shook his head, he mumbled the word children aloud. Ash rolled his eyes, he hated how Paul seemed to think of himself as older and wiser- even though he was wiser…

"What could she make of this situation? MW stole both of her love interests could be her thought, I am willing to offer some advice about this problem." said Paul.

"I don't need your help." said Ash, he gritted his teeth. "May isn't like that, don't speak about her like that."

"You are too dense to understand women Ketchum. What else could she conclude?" said Paul.

Ash made a fist out of his hand, he hated people who assumed stuff about May. He knew Paul didn't know her well enough, it wasn't him who gave her a comforting hug, reassured her, offered advice, walked her home, and talked to her for six hours when she found out about Gary.

Paul sighed, "Just don't speak of MW to her. She will be hurt, even if she does not speak of such feelings." The onyx-haired man walked out, he was bored of conversing with a "dense, stupid, naïve" boy.

That reminded me of Paul, Ash thought. Doesn't speak or show it but its there. Does he show emotion but keep it locked up?

The ice has to melt, but what heat could melt the cold? To be more specific…who can melt Paul's heart?

x-x-x

"The things I do for you two." grumbled Drew. Dawn was making some clothes for him to wear, Drew couldn't say no….he hated seeing people cry.

Dawn "accidentally" poked Drew again causing the green haired boy to yelp in pain lightly. "Oh sorry." said Dawn innocently.

"You're turning into Misty." said Drew.

"She told me I was turning into you."

"No, you are definitely turning into her. Just my luck…" said Drew sarcastically. Dawn and Misty were different, all three of them were different.

"Well you cried." said Drew.

"It's called acting." said Dawn, she smiled at her friend.

"What? You- witch. You annoying little- well I knew you were acting. I just did it because I'm _too_ kind." said Drew.

Oh…and Drew was too proud sometimes.

"Yeah, sure." said Dawn. She giggled lightly at her friend's bad acting.

Soon the three of them will be back, soon Cinderella man and "unknown" will text them tomorrow. They didn't just have Cinderella man, they had his friend too.

"I need a nickname for his friend." said Dawn.

"Don't ask me about that. You might as well call him Prince Charming." said Drew. Dawn's eyes lit up, Drew groaned.

"Good idea! And you said Prince Charming so sarcastically! Its perfect!" said Dawn optimistically.

"It's better than Cinderella man. Probably because I came up with -ow!" Dawn accidentally poked the needle at him again.

"Oh sorry!" said Dawn.

"Wrench." grumbled Drew. Dawn merely smiled, despite what Drew said to Misty and her she knew he was a great friend and really didn't mean the words he said. He was a great friend who got annoyed sometimes but would forget about it the next day.

"Why do you want to speak to him if all he does is annoy you?" asked Drew.

"Reasons," said Dawn. Truth be told, she didn't know why. She just wanted to say something that would convince him she was more than what he thought. "I do want to prove to him I'm not a bubbly idiot," Dawn admitted.

"And you care about his opinion, why?" Drew asked.

"Because enough people think I'm one already," Dawn answered. "I just want one more name off that list."

"Like who?" asked Drew.

"People..." said Dawn sadly. "People..."

* * *

><p>To let you all know- no advanceshipping in the story. I added that part with May for Contestshipping- to help with the development. May WILL NOT be rude in any way towards them also. However..she may get sad...I'm not sure how sad yet though.<p>

Yay Paul here..I had fun writing him lol.

Till next time, R&R?

-Dawn

edited: To fit into finished outline version with personalities. I felt Dawn seemed to bubbly, while she is, one thing she wants to prove is she's more than that.


	3. Old friends and new faces

Drew smirked, the green haired boy opened up the door. He turned his head and laughed as his two friends carried the luggage inside. No, he wasn't lazy. He was doing his part- supervising. Heck, he was being an angel right now for opening the door for them. Besides, Misty said something along the lines of "We don't need your help".

It wasn't that he couldn't carry their belongings either, he could- and much faster than them. After all, Dawn used him as a mannequin most of the summer. And Misty used him as a lab rat to test out her _horrible_ cooking. It was only fair that he used them.

Drew turned around to see Brock- a twenty-four year old alumni of the school. He was a tutor and watched over the area during the summer. Drew liked- no admired Brock. The boy could've been a doctor, his parents could afford it but it may be too much. Brock feared that if he went his younger siblings wouldn't be able to attend a nice collage when they're older. Drew wondered if he could do what Brock did. Could he give up his dream so others could succeeded and gain a better future? Drew wanted to be like Brock- but he couldn't. He tried to become selfless but he couldn't.

"Oh hey Drew and Dawn," said Brock. "And Misty of coarse," he smiled at the three teenagers.

"Hey Brock," said Drew. His eyes examined the garden in the front of their home. He had a love for nature, especially roses.

_-flashback-_

"Perfect location, not too far from the school, nice neighborhood, and close to malls and restaurants. Oh! And the park of coarse!" said Misty. Dawn tugged on her friend's red hair, tightening it. She pulled a green hair band from her hand and tied it on- completing the single back braid. Whole they toured the house she played with Misty's hair to pass the hours.

"Wait, malls?" asked Dawn who tuned out what everyone said.

Her mother Johanna laughed nervously, the single mother was afraid. Misty and Drew read the concern off her face. Dawn knew her mother worried ever so much about how she would manage by herself. The bluenette wanted to show how much of a hard worker she is. She wanted to let her see how independent she was.

"Yes, malls! We should get this place," said Misty optimistically. She sighed dreamily and imagined how wonderful life would be with the three of them living together.

"Eh, I don't like it," said Drew. The two girls started protesting but Drew kept shaking his head. All three of them had to agree on the house.

"Girls, that's enough. Drew told you he does not like the house. All three of you, Soledad, Harley, and me have to agree," said Johanna. Dawn mumbled a _hypmp _whiled Misty glared at Drew.

"Misty's sisters don't have to agree on anything! Why can't we just do majorit-"

"That's enough." said Johanna. She looked over at Misty, she saw the look of hurt and anger come across her face at the mention. She knew that her relationship with her sisters was complex. She knew the girl had tried running away from home in middle school. She pretended not to listen in to the conversation between the three friends, she kept quiet and thought deeply about her daughter's friends. Eventually, Misty started opening up to her, but even so was still secretive. Johanna pretended to be oblivious to the girl's problems and said the opinions she already had in mind. Drew, however, didn't open up, he was still closed to her. She only knew some details about him, but not too much anyways. She figured he was smarter than to discuss private troubles in front of her.

"Drew! Clubs are close by!" said Harley gleefully. The twenty-four year old hugged his little brother from behind causing Drew to shove him off.

"About twenty minutes away, maybe even thirty," said Drew's more mature sister Soledad. "But they won't be going in there," she raised an eyebrow teasingly.

"Not them, me," said Harley. He wrapped his arms around Misty and Dawn. "OH PLEASE CONVINCE DREW TO GET THIS PLACE! I LOVE IT ALL, I'LL VISIT MORE OFTEN IF YOU GET THIS PLACE. I'LL P-"

Soledad sighed, she dragged Harley off of the two girls. Misty hated being touched, but she wanted to hear what he had to say before he was knocked off them.

"Another reason to why we can't get this place," said Drew.

"I don't get it- Dude, come on, its perfect!" said Dawn. Johanna eyed her daughter- silently telling her that it was enough.

"Drew," said Soledad comfortingly and calmly. She placed her hand on her younger brother's shoulder. "I know," she smiled sadly, "this place has no flowers. But, the soil here looks quite nice. Perhaps you could plant your own garden,"

Drew hadn't thought of that idea, the reason why he was so against getting it was because there were no flowers. He loved plants, especially roses. He never told anyone but Misty, Dawn, and Soledad why. Harley found out eventually from eavesdropping. He didn't want to let anyone else know _this._

His mother, as in Harley, Soledad, and his mother loved flowers. She was usually in the garden planting, picking, and watering her plants. Drew never understood his mother's love for nature. One day, his mother, fed up with the boy's attitude -took him outside where he watered her plants. He found an injured bird while watering some daises- he took the bird in and cared for the bird. One day, the bird died. Drew remembered crying so much, the bird seemed to understand him- well that's what he thought as a kid. From that day on, he always went to the garden to look for more injured insects or birds. He began to love the flowers, he would watch his mother plant everyday when he was younger. She loved roses, red ones especially.

_Which is why, _Drew thought, _she was buried with them… _

"Earth to Drew? Hello?" said Misty. She knocked on his forehead playfully, Dawn giggled.

"So you'll get it?" asked Harley, he seemed excited. He dropped to his knees and began inching closer saying the word please over and over. Johanna sighed, she mumbled the word children and decided there was nothing she could do now.

"We can transfer some of mom's plants over," said Soledad. Everyone nodded in agreement. Dawn high-fived his sister for such a great idea.

That did it, "Yes," Drew said in agreement, "yes,"

"That settles it then," said Johanna.

…..

"Hey Drew…I can help you move the plants, I'll help take care of them also," offered Misty. She gazed at the empty lot, knowing how much work they'll have to do. _But it would be worth it, _she told herself. Drew was close to silent for the remainder of the day, she knew why: his mom. He was thinking about her again, when he was deep in thought he tended to stay quiet.

"Oh thanks Mist," said Drew. "But, Soledad and Harley are helping me already so-"

"The more the merrier!" said Dawn. The bluenette giggled, her hands behind her back. She ran over and showed Drew and Misty the packet of seeds she had. Drew smiled appreciatively at his friends.

"Thanks," said Drew.

"No problem!" said Dawn. "Listen, I know I was a little insensitive earlier."

"A little?" said Misty sarcastically.

"Okay! Sort of,"

"Sort of?" said Misty sarcastically again.

"It's okay, you didn't mean it like that," said Drew.

"Group hug?" said Dawn. The three friends placed their arms around each other, Johanna started digging for her camera. Harley and Soledad ran up and joined in- much to Drew's dismay and Misty's. Johanna took a picture and smiled, she decided to print it out and give each of the children a piece with their own frame.

That night, they all worked so hard for the garden. It was six A.M., the group snuck out at midnight again to start working. Dawn was tired out, she wanted her friend to be happy. She walked over to get more seeds when suddenly she lost some of her vision, she felt tired and started shaking. Misty looked over and screamed, "Dawn!" said Misty. She started running over with hopes of getting to her friend in time. Drew began feeling bad, Soledad and Harley dropped their shovels and ran. Suddenly, two toned arms belonging to the same person caught the bluenette. He came out of the bushes and carried her over- he laid her flat on the grass. His face looked a bit dirty, his clothes were old and torned he had bags under his eyes yet he smiled.

"Thank you so much!" they all said.

"No problem, call 911, she's dehydrated I believe. You all should rest you know, I came here two hours ago to find you all working. And yes, I'm aware one of you looks and probably is sixteen to eighteen, and the purple haired girl is in her early twenties," said the man. Harley gasped and clutched his green jacket- offended.

"It surprises me too," said Drew.

"HOW CRUEL! My own brother hates me! At least Misty likes me! She is-"

"Shut up you drama queen. This is not the time!" said Misty sternly. Harley began to fake cry causing him to get slapped again.

Johanna blew a fit and started to lecture them all.

"Be lucky this man was there, or who knows what could've happened," she said.

"Oh it was nothing, I hope Dawn feels better Mrs. Berlitz," said the hero of the day.

"Thank you!" said Misty. She reached out into her pocket and pulled out a twenty dollar bill she took from her sisters and gave it to the man. She figured he needed it more than her. The man gave it back to her saying he couldn't take it but smiled at her generosity. "It's nothing, really," she said, giving it back to him. The man sighed, but agreed.

"I'm still very sorry, I'm supposed to be the responsible one here but I failed," apologized Soledad.

"I'm older than you," said Harley, offended. Drew smirked.

"We know," said Misty. Harley began to ramble on about how mean they all where. Drew swore he saw the man chuckle in one part.

A nurse with pink haired stepped out, "She's fine just so you know. She fell asleep, now- don't make it seem like she got surgery," she said, noticing how they all stayed in the waiting room.

"These guys here should sleep too," said the man. He patted Misty's head and ruffled through Drew's hair. "I should get going," he added.

"Bye," said Misty

"See you around," said Soledad.

"Goodbye sexy," said Harley.

"…."

"I mean…goodbye stranger!" Harley said.

The man opened the door to leave, he felt something- or someone- tugging on his coat. He turned around to see the green haired boy.

"What's your name?" asked Drew.

"Brock, Brock Slate." he answered with a grin.

And as it turned out, each specific housing area had a caretaker, Brock only had one house to manage: theirs' because he did extra work around the school.

_-End flashback-_

"Thanks for taking care of the garden," said Drew.

"No problem Hayden," said Brock with a wink. "So are you pretending to contribute by supervising and opening up the door or are you just lazy,"

"He's just lazy," said Misty and Dawn. Brock just chuckled.

"You said you didn't need my help,"

"To carry OUR luggage. Why can't you carry your own right now?" Misty snapped.

"Hmmm…." said Drew, he smirked and flipped his hair. "Well its only approximately ten feet? Keep walking! You guys are almost there,"

"Hahaha, you're so funny." said Dawn sarcastically, she perfectly mimicked his tone. She dropped one of his bags as she walked.

"Oh please, the voice was spot on but there are better things to do than that," said Misty sarcastically. "For example," The redhead walked faster towards the house and dropped her own luggage on the carpet. It was only then that Drew realized what she was doing.

Misty ran up the stairs to her blue room. She opened up the balcony and unzipped Drew's luggage. She grinned evilly. She dangled a plastic bag backwards over the balcony. Dawn giggled, Brock merely smiled, Drew was not amused.

A few pieces of boxer shorts started falling from the sky. The only good thing was that Drew wasn't popular, if he was then some girls would've lined up and started fighting for a piece or two.

"I didn't plan on that falling out, I thought these were socks," mumbled Misty. "Non the less, alright!"

"It's snowing..." said Dawn. She stuck out her tongue as if a snowflake would land there. Brock gathered the pieces that fell and handed them to Drew.

"I'll hold those for you," said Dawn. Drew shook his head, he smirked with realization.

"What's he going to- ew!" said Dawn.

Misty had to be careful, she had to be precise with her aim. She dropped one more and exploded with laugher as it fell on her bluenette friend.

Dawn pouted, "Get it Drew," she said.

_Hmm, why did she say that? _Misty wondered. She saw a glimpse of Drew running in the house.

"Dammit,"

"You are the craziest people I know." said Brock, he chuckled causing Dawn to smile wider.

"I know!" she replied innocently.

Misty ran down to catch what she had a feeling he'd throw. "Great, just great." said Misty sarcastically. She caught most of the bras that fell out of the bag.

"Pervert," yelled Misty.

"You started it!" said Drew. He smirked, satisfied at his revenge. However, like Misty he thought it was t-shirts and not...those. Dawn sighed, she let out a small smile. A small argument would be funny as long as it didn't get too serious.

"Ummm well you guys- don't start," said Brock seriously.

"Well he made us work like slaves!" Misty reasoned out.

"You said you didn't need help," Drew reminded.

"You liar, like I have repeated a few times before, our luggage was what we can handle," Misty answered back. "You should've been responsible for yours. Can't you take a joke?"

"Well you started it!" Drew said semi-calm.

"Son of-" Misty stopped herself immediately, "a bastard," She almost let it slip, she disliked it when she didn't think before saying. Drew's mother was a wonderful lady, his father left the family.

"Obviously,"

Dawn exhaled, she relaxed more with the knowledge that Misty caught her mouth. The argument turned from immature to serious to immature in a matter of minutes. Brock tapped her shoulder, a serious look crossed his face. Dawn wondered why, she knew he attempted numerous times to end the disagreement.

"You have to stop this," said Brock seriously.

"Why?"

"Just stop this, okay?" Brock repeated. He eyed the sidewalk again and breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted to pick up the clothes that fell off the balcony. _Too bad it would be awkward. _Besides, if she turned around and saw a twenty something man picking up bras and boxers she would fire him on the spot.

"Guys! Stop this!" yelled Dawn.

"Get over it!" yelled Drew, annoyed.

"You've always been like _this_. Even when we were younger you stole my glue sticks," said Misty.

"We were in kindergarten or first grade, get over it," Drew said.

"We were in sixth grade idiot," Misty was a natural born arguer, she would make a great lawyer.

"You kiddin' me? We were in kindergarten or first grade! I remember taking something of yours there," Drew tried to remember if it was Misty's or Melody's, he couldn't remember.

"You stole one when I was younger too? You thief!"

"We were young, I took someone's pink crayon too," Drew smirked, he was such a kid back then.

"Hey!" interrupted Dawn. She folded her arms, Misty and Drew immediately turned to look at her. The shrill of her voice sent chills down their spines.

"You…was...did you take mine?" Dawn asked.

"Well I was young!"

"Pink was and is my favorite color,"

"Wow, you are a thief Drew! First my glue sticks and then her pink crayon!"

"And at such a young age. My my Drew, Misty and I learned something new today," Drew understood why Misty compared Dawn to himself.

"I was young! God damm-"…A blonde woman in black walked over, her arms folded. A disappointed like look was on her face. She sighed and shook her head.

Brock gasped, her face wasn't as mean as he thought. He heard she was a biased, rude, unreasonable, strict, and quite cold woman. She was said to have a temper as hot as fire and a heart as empty as a black hole. But the lady he saw seemed to be the opposite. He saw emotion, he saw her nervously twirl her black bag arched on her arm. He saw disappointment too.

"I'm sorry," apologized Brock.

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault," she said understandingly. "But," she pointed at Dawn, Drew, and Misty, "come with me." They all hesitated, Dawn reluctantly walked a few steps closer. She didn't know who the lady was, she did know Brock knew who she was though-or at the least had an idea. Misty followed, Drew flipped his green hair.

"I'm not supposed to go with strangers." he answered. "Common sense woman, one of the first rules you learn as a child."

_Oh no… why must Drew be like that? _Brock felt guilty, he wished he told them in time. He wished he could've changed the past.

"We're going to your school- well our school now." she replied.

"New student?" asked Dawn.

The woman blushed, she shook her head, a small giggle escaped her mouth. "No dear, I'm far too old to be a student."

"Wait, if your not a student then what business do you have taking us there? You can't punish us, school didn't even start!" said Misty. She smiled on the inside, it was time for her to use the back-up plan- debating.

"Yeah! And by the way I had no part in this." said Dawn. Drew and Misty groaned.

"Thanks Dawn, thanks." said Drew sarcastically

"Let's go, I promise; no detention just yet."

x-x-x

"No way! You can't be the principal, you're too young." said Drew. "Our principal is old and ruthless. She doesn't care about families who aren't as rich as others. She would have had the three of us arrested- you must be a teacher, right?"

Cynthia smiled, "No, I'm a principal. Now, let's go back to why I called you here." She clicked her silver pen repeatedly, the sound some what amused her.

"Well we got into an argument." said Misty. She didn't want to tell Miss. Cynthia the whole story- only the important parts. The story had only one important part anyways.

"I saw under garments surrounding the house- and I also witnessed some people holding some." she replied.

"I was going to wash them later." answered Dawn.

"Please do sweetie. Now, why were all three of you by that house?" Cynthia asked.

"We all live there." answered Misty.

"ALL THREE OF YOU? SAME H0USE?" she yelled, losing her cool. Drew nodded, he wonder why she was so surprised.

"Chill, tons of boys and girls live in the same house,"

"Names please." asked- demanded- Cynthia.

"I'm Dawn Berlitz."

"Drew Hayden."

"Misty."

"Misty?" asked Cynthia.

"She's Misty Waterflower." answered Drew for her. He smirked, satisfied with himself. A small rush of guilt fell upon him but he ignored it. It was a harmless joke after all, right?

"Ugh….don't refer to me by my last name." ordered Misty. She crossed her arms tiredly, she hated her last name. She felt it was too happy and corny for her taste, she preferred her mother's maiden name -Watanabe. It seemed more sophisticated and classy than Misty Waterflower. Misty Watanabe had a more smoother and older sound.

"Oh..I don't know you," said Cynthia. She slapped herself for saying such wordings. She was new, of coarse she wouldn't know who they were. She nervously twirled the pen grasped in her hand. She wanted to make the impression that she was educated, easy-going, yet fair when it came to discipline. She was young, too little was expected of her. The majority of teachers look down upon her- she has heard some saying that she probably slept with men to get where she was.

She didn't. She earned her place and ranking fairly, she wished for respect. She didn't want people to look at her as naïve and inexperienced because she's young and sweet.

"Practice…just practice Cynthia," she whispered to herself. She took a deep breath and tried to come up with something that was convincing and intelligent-sounding. _I mustn't appear stupid, I mustn't. _

"You are just new," said Dawn, "but its okay! You know now." She smiled optimistically, forgetting that her friends and her were called in for a talk.

"Very much appreciated Miss. Berlitz, I solemnly promise to remember all three of your names next time. I do hope however that it is for a good reason, and nothing where I would have to discipline any of you." Cynthia replied, satisfied with herself.

"Are you attempting to use a colorful vocabulary to give us the impression that you are very intelligent?" said Misty, she used a British accent and pointed her head up high.

"You can talk normally you know, we don't care." Drew shrugged, Cynthia knew the three just wanted to get out.

"Not to be rude, but what would you like to tell us?" asked Dawn. The bluenette hoped her wordings come out right, she did not want to sound rude and impatient. She knew the pressure of moving somewhere else and trying to fit in. Some like you, some hate you, some don't care. She wished her friends would drop the sneer comments.

"Well, you three live in the same household correct?" The trio nodded, "Are you all related in some way?" she asked. Drew chuckled then shook his head.

Misty didn't know whether or not this counted but she thought the new principle should know. "Dawn's mother is a motherly figure for Drew and I, she's not our legal guardian though."

A motherly figure? Cynthia wondered what she meant by that. She knew that both would have mothers, but she wondered if their parents were in their lives currently. She would check the files later and see what exactly the three of them were about, she'd check out other files too. A good principle needed to know her students and have an idea on who they are.

"I see, that really doesn't count though. I was surprised to find all three of you living together…two girls..one boy….I do hope-"

"No, I think of that as incest, even if the three of us aren't related." said Drew, he gagged in an attempt to show how he would never date Dawn or Misty, ever.

"If Drew tried something with me he would've broken a few ribs, does he look injured?" said Misty. Cynthia shook her head, she wasn't used to this. She knew boys and girls could be in cliques but living together with no relations was new to her.

"Okay, I'll trust you on that. May I ask one question though?"

"You already did," Drew smirked and accepted a high five from Misty.

"Can I ask you another question?"

"You did it again," Dawn laughed. She stretched both her arms out but neither Misty nor Drew (who mumbled something about her being a joke stealer) accepted.

"Thanks," said Drew sarcastically.

"Umm...we can let her answer the question now," said Dawn, she thought of a million things she could do instead of being here; school wouldn't start for maybe a week, and when it did she knew her fun would be limited.

Cynthia smiled at the bluenette, she hoped that there were more students like her- not that she didn't like Drew and Misty, she was glad that one knew self defense and another had quick wits. "Is it awkward with you three living together?"

Misty let out a small smile, "It's crazy, not awkward." She winked as Cynthia tried to imagine what chaos occurred.

"You don't want to know." warned Dawn, she repeated it again, "You don't want to know at all."

Cynthia laughed, "Okay then, I'll take your word for that. Now, you guys all look bored. All three of you should enjoy the last few days left before school starts."

"Bye!" said Dawn. She shook her head, "Good luck, you're already my favorite principle and teacher."

"Thank you sweetie," said Cynthia sweetly.

"Yeah, good luck. You're really going to need it." said Drew. "Oh, and you're better than the old hag we had last year," Cynthia took that as a compliment, she wasn't going to complain as that may be the only compliment she would get from him.

Cynthia noticed the third one, Miss. Waterflower, didn't give her a message or said a farewell. She turned to look at the redhead who coldly turned away and walked out with her friends. She debated whether to go and say bye or let her go. As a teacher, she always wanted to be welcoming. She wanted to make herself seem open.

"Bye Misty," said Cynthia.

Misty ignored her- again. She walked out with her head down. Dawn followed along with Drew wondering what the sudden cold shoulder was about.

"Misty, what was that about?" asked Dawn.

"Her," she replied coldly.

"Are you bipolar? You just suddenly got so cold." said Drew.

They couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong, her eyes appeared cold yet flamed with anger.

"She looks like her," she emphasized the word her. Dawn then knew what she meant.

"Did her farewells remind you of her?"

"Yes, they shouldn't have but they did."

"Misty, Cynthia said to enjoy the last few days we had of summer. The person you're thinking of said to enjoy the last few days with your foster family. Big difference there, yeah they're both blonde but still…. What suddenly brought it up again?" asked Drew.

"She mentioned my mom being a motherly figure for you guys…I think it started it up. Misty can't burry it forever Drew." Dawn reminded. "You know the right thing to do, go and apologize." Misty rolled her eyes, she walked back and knocked on the door.

"Oh hi again!" said Cynthia cheerfully. Misty groaned, she was exactly like the person she thought of. Both couldn't understand her yet try too, but are too cheerful and way too positive.

"Bye," said Misty. Cynthia tapped her shoulder causing the redhead to turn back.

"Is something bothering you?" she asked.

"You just remind me of someone I don't like to remember, I'm sorry for being rude. You see…it just brought back the memories." said Misty. With that, she walked off and rejoined her friends leaving Cynthia to wonder more about her new students.

x-x-x

Leaf groaned, she hated that some teacher decided to give her detention when school hasn't started yet. It wasn't her fault that the window broke, she was just playing and the tennis ball bounced and shattered the window. If one had to be blamed then she felt it should be the damn racket which is worn out and over used.

"Yeah..that's it." Leaf told herself. She saw a blonde lady open up the principle's office with keys. She followed; wondering who the hell the lady was.

_Stupid! You are such an idiot Leaf. _She forgot that the old principle retired, and here she was for two weeks cleaning up when the head macho was naïve to the whole situation.

She watched as the new principle opened up the office and returned with three folders. She opened one up and started to read through.

"Who is here this late?" asked Leaf. The woman was startled, she nearly spilled her tea over the document.

"I'm sorry…what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Some bitch gave me detention, I assume you're the new principle." said Leaf, she gave the new so-called Miss. Cynthia a "I-don't-give-a-damn" look. She needed to show her strength and she wanted to define who she was.

"Oh well yes I am…" she dryly responded. Cynthia started reading towards Dawn's folder again.

"Dawn Berlitz? Drew Hayden? Misty Waterflower?" chuckled Leaf.

"You know them..?" asked Cynthia

"I tolerate them I guess, we had two classes or somethin', acting class and maybe somethin' else," Leaf said. She left out the details about how Misty always made sure Drew and Dawn studied so they could be in more than one class together.

"Are they…you know…popular?"

Leaf shrugged, "Misty's popular for being one of Oak's so-called whore of the year. She isn't a whore, she didn't sleep with him. Hell, first time a girl Oak dated didn't sleep with him. Flings and flirts don't count B.T.W," Leaf literally said the letters _BTW._

"So…"

"Dawn's pretty and at all, she likes fashion but most people don't seem to notice her which sucks for her. We used to go the same school till she moved half way through fifth grade. She probably met up with Misty and Drew in the school she moved too."

Cynthia remembered the argument, Drew stated he took a pink crayon when he was younger. If Dawn met with them in fifth grade then the one he took probably wasn't hers.

"Drew is 'kay, semi-popular with the ladies. Till the Brianna incident though…girls stopped fangirling over him after that. I think Dawn scared them off. Oh and Dawn's the only one with an alive parent, Misty's sisters got custody of her when she was in seventh grade or something. Drew has siblings too who are his legal guardians. Dawn only has a mom, no dad."

Cynthia wondered if she reminded Misty of a foster parent or something like that. "Are they the only mixed gender students living together with no relations?"

"Uhhh.." Leaf tried to remember, she stomped her right foot for a few minutes. "Ketchum, Shinji, and Maple. But ya know Shinji is the godchild of Ketchum's mama. I don't know about Maple at all."

"Who are they?"

"Snobby popular people who fly above the average radar in popularity. Well Ketchum's pretty damn popular… Maple's well liked and Shinji's adored. I put them in the same category as Oak: Pathetic." growled Leaf.

"Why do you say that?" asked Cynthia.

"I don't like 'em. Don't ask me why, I just don't. I'm glad Oak graduated though, he was such a jackass." snarled Leaf. She continued to refer to them with their last name instead of their first. Cynthia tried to find out about Leaf, she wanted to know her students of coarse. The new principle wondered if Leaf called those she didn't like by their last name instead of their first…if those were their last names.

"So…they are the only ones?"

"There are like two hundred other mixed gender groups, but everyone there is legit related. Triplets, cousins, siblings, step siblings, twins, and more- you name it." Leaf informed.

"Interesting…" said Cynthia. She decided not to read her students records. She wanted to find out who they were by herself. She wanted to develop her own opinions first hand.

...

_Ash(Dawn): That's Crazy, you're crazy, he's crazy._

Misty smiled, she told Cinderella man everything…almost everything. She didn't mention how Cynthia reminded her of….HER. She never talked about the cold shoulder she gave her or how the principle was new.

_Misty(MW):You're crazy too! Who would eat a three year old donut? _She texted back.

_Ash(Dawn):It still looked fresh, plus, I don't waste food. P.S. Am I still referred to as Cinderella Man? ._._

_Misty(MW):Yes, you are. So you'd eat food off a floor? Lol._

_Ash(Dawn):Depends on what it is. Broccoli? Get it away from me! Chocolate? Too good to waste. _

Misty giggled a very girly giggle. After a hectic day of revenge, meeting the new principle, and making Drew contribute to helping them unpack and set up…relaxing with her friend over the phone was heaven. She wondered how Dawn was, she figured she was talking…err arguing with her friend Prince Charming over the phone. Drew…he didn't have anyone to text whom he has never met. She wondered if she or Dawn should let Drew talk to one of the guys, Soledad did say he needed some more guy friends.

"Wait…that was Harley." She wondered why Soledad would say something like that…she understood Harley's reasons though.

* * *

><p><strong>This is 23 pages on Microsoft word already by the way. Ahh, I added Leaf in;) She'll be a supporting character, she'll come back though. I'm focusing more on Drew, Misty, and Dawn right now, you'll see more of Paul, Ash, Leaf, and..MAY:D. She'll appear next chapter, trust me. Ahh, I added some stuff about their history? Oh and Brock! He seems to be forgotten in fan fictions, I just had to bring him in:D <strong>

**- Drew's mother loved gardens and flowers, she was buried with them. You'll see later how she died, it's a sensitive topic; and his father left too.**

**-Cynthia reminded Misty of someone who let her sisters take custody of her in seventh grade. **

**-Dawn only knows her mother, she transferred half way through fifth grade and met up with Misty and Drew.**

**-Leaf does not like Ash, Gary, Paul, or May…you'll see why.**

**-Harley is 27 currently, Soledad is 20, Cynthia is 26, Brock is 24, Leaf is 16 (same age as Misty, Drew, Dawn, May, Paul, and Ash)**


	4. Smile

A/N **To whom it may concern:**

**Um…thank you for clicking my story? Please don't take this as an attack if you keep up, I couldn't respond to you… But, if you don't like Misty and/or Pokeshipping and Ikarishipping and Paul then why did you click? I mean….it was under Misty and Ash and said PS, CS, IS in the summary. There are amazing stories for Pearlshipping, Contestshipping, and Orangeshipping out there=) (I don't mean that sarcastically by the way, there are amazing fan fictions for those ships, the pokemon fandom has such talented writers) Please, don't go around flaming fictions because you dislike/don't support a ship or two there. That's all I want to say about that, ~Dawn.**

**Hoenn Master~ Thank you so much:D I always seem to mix up that word, I'll try to watch for that next time;)**

**Aamlforever- thanks:D**

_The chapter name is in reference to the song "Smile" by Avril Lavigne. It inspired me in one certain part in this chapter._

**x-x-x**

"Thank you so much for cooking Dawn," said Drew. He dipped his fork to taste more of Dawn's special chocolate pancakes.

"How come no one's eating the cake I made?" Misty complained. She woke up at six A.M. to make the cake for her "unappreciative" friends. Just because she accidentally over-cooked it, and maybe it was a little black didn't mean it was in poor taste. Well maybe a little…but it could've been worst.

"I actually want to see live," said Drew. He remembered the food Misty made that he -was forced to- eat.

"It's all coming back..that horrible soup and…that…spaghetti.-horrible." He shuddered at the memory; the taste seemed to come back as he ate Dawn's pancakes.

"Well…I don't like eating uhh blackberry cake," said Dawn. Well, she thought it was blackberry.

"It was supposed to be Vanilla,"

_Vanilla…those vanilla cupcakes! _Drew started to cough, as much as he tried, he couldn't stop.

"He choked on his food! Get him water! Quick!" yelled Misty. She ran over to get him a glass but Dawn beat her to it. The bluenette ran and handed her friend a glass of water. Misty remembered learning about what to do in swimming class once. She ran over and smacked his back, twenty seconds later he seemed to have relaxed.

"How did you choke?" asked Dawn franticly.

"I remembered Misty's _horrible_ cooking. It's not the taste that will kill you, it's the memory of the taste." said Drew. Dawn sighed, if all went as she thought, than Misty would be offended and an argument might break out- again. The bluenette tried to help the redhead cook better….key word is tried.

"Because you are such a cookie prodigy yourself," said Misty. She sat down and folded her arms.

"Guys! Look at the bright side. Misty was better than she started! She didn't start a fire this time," said Dawn. She attempted to stop any possible argument from happening.

"I could do better, if you're so good then why don't you take a bite out of that cake?"

Dawn shook her head, "Are you trying to kill her?"

Drew only smirked; quite typical.

"I'm gonna warn you though, it's really bad." Misty, being the stubborn girl she is, ignored his warnings and tried to cut the hard piece of cake. When she got the piece out, Dawn went and stuffed the horrible tasting cake in her mouth.

"Oh my god.." The bluenette spit it out and drank the rest of Drew's water- much to his dismay.

"Was it that bad?"

Dawn took the platter and emptied out the horrible tasting cake in the garbage.

"I'm sorry Misty, but that was really bad. I swear, there was an eggshell in there!"

"I think I'm done eating," said Drew. Dawn and Misty both nodded their heads.

"We could give that piece to Brock." Drew suggested.

"NO! ARE YOU CRAZY?" said Dawn. She hit his leg, "Get your feet off of the table mister."

"Yeah, you don't have to clean it." grumbled Misty. Drew rolled his eyes, he flipped his hair and continued to wear that big mischievous smile on his face.

"Oh Dawn! Someone used up the eggs." said Misty sadly. Dawn gasped, she opened the fridge door and looked inside. The bluenette fell to her knees and stretched her arms upward.

"Oh no! How will we leave" said Dawn dramatically,

Misty grumbled the word _live_ silently. "LIVE! How will we live- not leave."

"And you were going to bake something!" sighed Misty. She joined her friend and comforted her. Drew sat there, chair turned- confused at the whole scene. Dawn winked at Misty who replied with a quick smile.

"Oh no! We don't have any milk anymore!" Dawn gasped, she covered her face with her arms and _whimpered._

Drew stood up and opened the door wider, he saw a cartoon of milk still there- no eggs but milk. "Idiots, we have a cartoon left!"

_Dammit, _Misty thought. She grabbed the milk and opened up the lid. She was glad that it wasn't so heavy! She chugged as much milk as could drink until a good, small amount was left. Dawn poured the rest into a cup and drank it quickly. Drew noticed she didn't look like she was just crying.

"Drama queen."

"Lettuce head,"

"Blueberry."

"Jealous?" Misty butted into the name-calling contest.

"Carrot head."

"You wish, you are just green with envy." Dawn high-fived Misty.

"Oh, by the way Drewy-" Dawn continued, "You're going grocery shopping."

"SO THAT'S WHAT THAT WAS ABOUT. You idiots! You made up a play just so I can grocery shop?" Misty and Dawn nodded.

"It's either that, or I will wake you up like I did last year to go running with me. But this time, I won't wake up Dawn." said Misty.

"Oh yeah!" Dawn hated the practice at four A.M. Misty woke them up every day around spring and autumn just to run. Dawn hated gym class, especially running. She was unable to keep up with Misty and trailed behind Drew also. She tried to skip running by ditching, and instead, going into a shop close by or, she would just walk- Misty caught her often though. And if Misty didn't, Drew did.

"You guys are such annoying bitc-" He didn't get a chance to finish as Dawn and Misty already pushed him out the door. He grumbled and tried to protest but it was no use- the two locked the door. He saw them giggle from the window.

As he walked, he saw Brock come over. Drew remembered Brock told him that until school started, he would care for the plants so Drew could enjoy his vacation.

"Hey Brock,"

"Hey Drew, you look annoyed." Brock chuckled.

"It was because of two very _innocent _girls you might know."

"Oh, they really did that acting scene?"

"You knew!"

"I thought they were kidding about it. Well see you later!" Brock waved and then continued walking towards the house.

Drew promised to get back at the two later, right now, he was blackmailed into doing what they want.

And yet, he was friends with them- he put up with them everyday..every single damn day. People would ask why? He complained about them and was rude to them- yet he cared about them. They cared about him too…

He smirked and remembered what Dawn's mom said about the three of them. "_You are all in a dysfunctional family, but it works."_

No matter how much times they insulted, black mailed, annoyed, teased, joked, tricked, and forced each other..they were a family. They were each other's second family.

x-x-x

May turned off her alarm o'clock and raced down stairs. She hoped Ash or even Paul (who she wasn't really..friends with) would be there. She missed them so much, the two always seemed to be talking to someone or someones she didn't know. She barely saw them during the day; they never seemed to leave food left over either.

But she knew it wasn't their fault, they cooked for themselves. She didn't expect them to cook for her.

"Hello?" she said cheerfully. She looked around and saw nobody, she wondered if perhaps this time they left her a note or breakfast. The granite table was empty; the dishes were placed in the sink and unwashed. She lifted the handle on the sink and started to wash the dishes her friends left.

"I've been pretty lonely…." She felt an emotion she didn't want to feel: broken. She felt broken ever since Gary cheated on her. She didn't know who the girl was, she didn't blame her though. She had a feeling the girl didn't know either. They were both victims, neither was at fault.

Ash always supported her; he was such a great friend during the time when she felt more broken than before. Her heart was fixed up but still closed.

Gary was her first love, she hated the whole concept of relationships before. She didn't believe in love, but Gary changed that. And he broke her….just like her father who broke her mom.

She couldn't understand why she left to attend the boarding school, she knew Paul and Ash were going but she wanted to stay with her sickly mom and brother. She loved them dearly, Max and her argued but she still cared for him. Her mom is what she wants to be. When her dad cheated she was saddened but became stronger mentally over time.

"If only she became stronger physically…" May said sadly. Her mother was dying, she always had been sickly. Her mother was first diagnosed when May found out her father cheated with a nurse. She prayed everyday that her mom wouldn't die..her prayers were answered. But then, it came back. Her mother tried to put on a strong face but she knew how to see through the mask.

May stopped the running water and opened up the fridge: nothing. Her stomach growled.

"Why do I feel this? I feel like a stranger to Ash more now. I was always distant from Paul but now the gap widened…" She hated to complain, she was appreciative of the Ketchum family. Paul tolerated her and didn't complain about her staying there.

"I guess I'll buy more then." May tried to sound optimistic, little did she know, she herself was as in denial as her mother when it concerned life.

It was on her to cover up the feelings she tried to keep inside. And everyday, the mask breaks a little more.

_x-x-x_

"Bread…Milk…vegetables…fruits….sweets..spices. And it took me an hour to get all these!" Drew complained to the lady. He was finished, he was done. However, now he needed revenge. He wanted to surprise the two little _angels _he lived with.

"Listen kid, I don't have all day. Get these home to your ten year old sisters and leave." The old lady said sternly.

"They're not ten!" Drew yelled. "They are sixteen years old and they are not my sisters! They are like my annoying sisters though." He grumbled.

"But you said you lived with them?"

"We do all live together!" He watched as people behind him stared oddly at him, one man gave him a wink.

He knew what they were thinking: He was going to kill them both. "Why does everyone think th-"

"Kids today have no morals!" The cashier lady started to say. Drew got bored of hearing her talk and tuned her out completely.

"Wake up sunny! You're done, now get out of my sight." She snarled. Drew glared and started to pick up his items when he realized he had ten bags and had to carry them all home. He pushed his cart out the door and took out his phone. He dialed Misty's number first- she was fast and probably could carry four of them.

"Hello..you have reached Misty…sorry..we can't reach you right now. Dawn and I went shopping! We'll be back soon. Oh and Drew, we only needed milk, eggs, and bread. Bye now! Oh, please leave your message after the beep!"

"Beep!"

Drew rolled his eyes, annoyed. "You two! You…you're DEAD..I'm going to get you two tonight! You two little..WHEN I GET BACK..oh god you're going to be so sorry." He turned off his phone and placed it back into his jean pocket. He looked up to see people staring at him. Drew realized how wrong his message sounded.

"Move along! Why do you ALL think that?" Drew snarled. A small kid started crying, his mom came over and rushed to his side.

"Oh Adam, what happened?" The kid pointed towards Drew- who moved and hid behind a plant.

"Oh sweetie, don't cry now, mommy's here!" She said sweetly. The woman hugged her son, the kid stopped crying immediately.

"You'll never leave me?" He asked. Drew was not a pedophile, but that was cute.

"Never." the woman smiled. She held the boy's hand and started walking towards their car.

Drew felt guilty, he knew he let his anger get the best of him. The kid's mother didn't yell or slap the kid like most mothers do. She comforted him, and that reminded Drew of his own mother.

He knew what he had to do. Drew ran to the child and his mom. He held one of the bags behind his back. The child responded by hiding behind his mom.

"Hi Adam, I'm sorry for making you cry. I didn't mean you..just I've had a hard day." said Drew. The kid took a few steps forward.

"Here," said Drew. He took out a package of _Chips-A-Hoy _and handed it the kid. He couldn't help but smile- not smirk- smile as the kid grinned happily.

"Look mommy! Look what the **cool **boy gave me!" He tugged on his mother's skirt. The lady smiled and opened up the car door.

"Thank you so much, do you go to school in this area? You know- the Academy?" Drew nodded.

"Ahh, my older daughter goes here. We are just visiting actually, well, thank you so much for the cookies! Adam loves them." She smiled at Drew and placed the package in one bag.

"When I grow up, I want to be just like you!" Adam smiled and hugged Drew before his mom helped him buckle up. Drew caught the boy wave to him from the window with a huge grin on his face.

Drew walked back, he wasn't angry or annoyed anymore, he felt happier. He picked up all nine bags and started walking. He wasn't in that revenge mood anymore also.

x-x-x

May panted heavily, who knew that all those bags would be heavy? She was going to fall or drop a bag at that rate. She noticed a green haired boy carrying a lot too. She gazed into his eyes- she could tell emotion just by doing so, as crazy as it sounded she thought it was a unique gift.

He seemed happy? The boy just looked so relaxed, his eyes were Emerald and in May's opinion: beautiful. She couldn't stop from getting lost in them. And then, she stopped paying attention to her surroundings; May walked into him.

"Sorry! I'm very sorry sir." said May. She started to pick up what she thought were his bags first and handed them to him.

"Chill, it's okay. You don't need to pick up my bags." Drew said.

"But I walked into you! I just… I-I" May blushed. She stopped herself from saying anymore, after all; he was a stranger to her. How would he feel if she suddenly confessed to being lost in his eyes?

"Listen, I know the roses there are beautiful but try and focus on what's in front of you." said Drew, he flipped his hair and smirked.

"I was looking in front of me! That's how I saw you!" said May, she blushed redder.

"You kept looking at me and you forget about your surroundings?" Drew asked. He chuckled while May blushed even more than before.

"I'll take that as a yes," he replied. "Drew by the way, and you are?"

"May, my names May."

"I heard you the first time May," Drew laughed and began to pick up May's bags first. He grabbed an empty cart and placed all their stuff combined in it.

"I'm so sorry..I…you are so kind." she replied nervously. May didn't know why she was so nervous and polite despite his attitude.

"Come on; if you think I act like a jerk just say it."

"How would you know?" asked May.

"I can see it on your face. And why are you so freakin' sad?"

"You are such a gentleman….." said May sarcastically.

"Good, just don't turn into my friends." said Drew, he was happy that she could come back with something. "You didn't answer my question by the way."

"I…can't explain it," said May. She wasn't the type to meet someone and tell them her life story and feelings. Drew pressed his hand on her forehead; she blushed for about the hundredth time that day. His hand felt so warm and nice against her forehead. He looked into her blue eyes and opened his mouth to say something.

It was like the movies, in this part, most would expect for him to lean in and kiss her…but instead of that, May's stomach growled and seemingly ruined the moment.

"Someone didn't eat breakfast," said Drew.

"Well..where I live I needed to buy more food for my house mates and I."

"And where are they?"

May shrugged, "I don't know."

"Come on," said Drew. He placed a hand on the cart, the other grabbed May's shoulder. She just stood there, frozen.

"What is it?" asked May. His hand nor her body moved.

"Tell me where you live,"

"WHAT?" screamed May. "Why would you want to know where I live!" Drew groaned.

"You're hungry, you need help with all these food, you can't carry them by yourself. Especially if you're too busy thinking about me." He said the last sentence arrogantly.

"I would not be too busy thinking of you!"

"Says the one who got lost in my eyes,"

"I never said anything about that!"

"It's implied May."

"Is not! You are just too full of yourself!"

"And you, sunshine, blushed red so much times I lost count." Drew smirked. He enjoyed being the teaser for once, not the teased. Now, he did care for her well-being though. He hated seeing girls cry, and to him, May looked dead and still looks a little dead right now.

May blushed because he was right.

"One," said Drew. He started to count how much times May blushed.

"Okay I get it!" snapped May. "We can't just take the cart though!" She was a major rule obeyer, she wasn't a rule breaker by any means,

"They have enough." Drew tried to reason.

"But-" She was cut off, Drew grabbed one of her hands and started running while pushing the cart. She ran and tried to keep up with him, but was tired out once they got out of the shop area. May panted heavily, she wasn't out of shape but Drew ran too fast for her.

"I hope you return that cart," said May between pants. She crossed her arms and leaned against it. Drew only smirked- she noticed he smirked a lot.

"Oh they will…" Drew said softly.

"Okay then.." said May. She didn't know who he referred to by _they_.

"Now, where do you live?" he asked.

"I'll show you," said May tiredly.

"Get in."

"Excuse ME?" said May.

"You sure have a dirty mind princess." Drew chuckled. "Do you want to get in or not? You look tired out." May nodded, she went inside the chart as Drew pushed.

…

"Right!" May yelled, "And then left! Then down Green street!" She enjoyed ordering him around much more than she should've. She laughed when he complained, Drew was sarcastic yet caring. He was also arrogant but selfless.

"Are we there yet….I'm gonna….this is….."

"Turn left and then we're there!" said May.

"You're not kidding right?"

"Why would I joke about that?"

Oh, and she knew his experience with his housemates and "sisters." Drew often get paranoid and thought that she was playing with him. He told her about what they did in the morning and how his friends used him for cooking and designing. She laughed, a lot. For the first time in a long while she laughed without having to force herself in order to remain polite.

"Holy shit." Drew muttered under his breath. The house May pointed to be was much bigger than theirs.

"That's it!" said May. Drew grinned, he went over to the cart and carried May out. He placed her on the sidewalk, May turned her head away- she didn't want him to see her face.

"W-why did you do that!" she yelled. Drew shrugged.

"You looked like you needed help." he replied. May didn't know what to say, she wanted to say thank you, a small part of her wanted to vent our her feelings on to him. She knew why she was happy, and why she smiled: she was having fun. For the first time in quite a while she was having genuine fun. She was broken, then comforted, and now she was closer to her old self than she had been in a while.

…

"Nothing special but it's good," said May. Drew offered to make her breakfast, he wasn't a professional but his cooking was decent, something you'd expect a family member to make for you in the morning- not restaurant like however.

"I've been told my cooking is far from Dawn's level," said Drew.

May wondered about Dawn and Misty, Drew's two friends. They seemed to argue a lot, but they were close. It reminded her of how much fun she had with Ash as a child. His mother and him were family friends so they moved to Petalburg to help out after her father was…kicked out by May.

"You three must have a lot of fun together…"

"It's all crazy, my life has been crazy- never normal." said Drew

"In a good way?" asked May, "I mean, crazy in a good way?" Drew shrugged but then nodded.

"It depends," said Drew, "You have housemates correct?" May nodded.

"Friends..technically, if you count Paul as my friend which I highly doubt," May didn't know what Paul thought of her, everyone seemed to conclude that the three were all a clique; but they weren't. Ash and Paul have recently been spending a lot of time together; they also never got off their phones. She wanted to know who they were talking to, not because she was angry about that- it was because she liked to meet new people.

Drew noticed her facial expression changed, he's seen that look before: his mom. He remembered how her face looked and changed. May looked down, similar to how his mother looked down. She walked over and tried to force a smile for Drew but failed to convince him. May looked lost in thought and….saddened. Drew knew why his mother looked saddened when he was older, he figured it out soon enough.

"Something's wrong," said Drew. May looked up at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, innocently.

"Why are you sad?" he asked. She didn't reply to him.

"Why are you sad? Don't lie May, I've seen that look before."

"It's just….Paul and Ash always spend time together, a lot more recently."

She didn't know why they were friends, she had always thought they despised each other and suddenly they become close? She couldn't understand it, she wondered if perhaps they both talked to the same person or people which helped them connect.

"I just want to know….." May's voice trailed off.

She felt like the third wheel, she was like a burden to them. She barely saw them and when she did they were talking to someone. Her mind reminded May that she had told this stranger too much, she knew his name and friends but she didn't know his history. Her heart chanted to tell him, it was very persistent.

"Something's bothering you, when you're ready to talk then tell me. If you don't want to, just know you can tell me when you're ready. But right now I think you had a seemingly dull week with them." said Drew. He watched as May's eager and hungry sapphires scan the orange juice. He poured it for her, and watched her smile-again.

"You look better when you smile, kid," said Drew.

May's eyes widened, "E-Excuse me? I'm not a kid!"

"You aren't?"

"I'm sixteen!"

"I thought you were a freshman!"

"You-do I look like one?" asked May.

She watched him take a double take and try to answer the question before he said it out loud. May added one more trait to Drew's personality chart: he thinks before he speaks.

"You could pass for both freshman and junior." Drew concluded. He picked up her dirty plate and placed it in the sink for her. "I'll wash this, your housemates are washing the rest," As he washed, Drew wondered _what _he was doing.

Here he was helping a then-stranger girl pick up her bags when it was clearly her fault. Here he was, he stole a cart from a store and pushed her so she wouldn't get tired out. He carried her out, he cooked for her and to add now- washed her dishes.

Was it because he related to her on a non-speaking level? She made him curious? He was a "guy who secretly has a heart of gold", or was he attracted to her- like a possible slight crush? Or maybe it was because she was different; she stood out in the crowd. He wouldn't say these thoughts out loud but she made him wonder more then he should.

He dried his hands when his phone rang, "Can you answer it for me May?" The brunette nodded and answered, she held the phone up to her ear.

"Hello? Hello…Hello?" May couldn't hear, she heard a voice of..a girl? She wondered if it was Drew's girlfriend or maybe his friends.

"Turn it on speaker phone," said Drew.

"Okay," replied May.

"Misty! Drew's with a girl!" squealed Dawn.

May found it comforting to know that it was probably his friends, she convinced herself the reasons why were because she would've hated it if Drew had to hear bad news.

"Shut up," said Drew, annoyed. He grabbed the phone out of May's hand, their fingers lightly brushed against each other.

"We lock you out inside and THIS happens?" said Dawn.

"What are you trying to say Berlitz?" asked Drew.

"I'd like to meet your girlfriend- well we would like to meet her." said Misty.

_Thank you so much Misty, I knew what Dawn was going to imply.. _Drew thought to himself.

May's throat grew dry and she blushed- again. "G-Girlfriend?" asked May. "You told them I was your-"

"No! They are just being annoying- as usual."

"And you threatened us in your voice mail." said Misty. Drew almost forgot about the message he left- he remembered being quite angry.

"I got a lot of fabrics by the way, I wanna try making new clothes today." said Dawn gleefully, "Oh and Drew can you-"

"No! I was your mannequin for the whole summer, let Misty be it for once!"

"But I don't want to poke her," said Dawn

"And me?"

"Well, it's harder on Misty. She's a girl…and you know.."

"I don't want to hear it Dawn," said Drew.

"You make your own clothes?" asked May. She hoped she didn't sound rude for interrupting.

"Yeah, whenever I have time. You should see the black shirt I made, it looked great on Drew even thought it has pink hearts on it." giggled Dawn.

"Hey Drew! You and your girl who is a friend should come over today. I'd really like to meet her." said Misty.

"May and I can't-"

"..Say no to that! We'll go, I'd love to meet you two."

"Why can't you be like that Drew?" said Misty. Drew was positively sure she was smiling twistedly wherever she was.

"Yeah Drewy! Oh and I'm Dawn! Misty is the other girl here."

"Our hair matches fruits, mine is the same color as carrots- but I hate carrots," said Misty.

"I'm May," said May, she continued, "So nice too-"

"You…why did you accept?" asked Drew.

"They seem nice, why did you seem so annoyed?" asked May.

"Dawn got an A plus in acting, Misty got a A, but she's a better liar. They aren't as innocent as you think," said Drew. May figured that, she caught on to what Dawn might have hinted before..she shuddered, that didn't change her opinion on them though.

"They are…don't tell them I told you this?" said Drew. May nodded and urged him to continue on. "Some of the best people I've known in my life. They annoy me but they are the greatest of friends, I told you how our relationship works right?" May nodded.

"They'll probably be nice to me, its just you I believe." said May.

"You're pretty good at observing," complimented Drew.

Drew rarely gave straight-forward compliments; and here he was- acting too unlike himself then usual.

"Oh thanks!" said May.

"I just hope Harley isn't there…" Drew mumbled to himself.

"Why must you hit me so much Misty?" yelled Harley.

Misty rolled her eyes and tightened her grip on the whisk. Harley complained about how he missed Soledad (who is in collage) and Drew in their home. They had work to do, they couldn't afford to waste time on such dramatic acts!

She wondered if she stirred right, she wanted everything to be PERFECT. Today was the year that Dawn came- the year the three of them became best friends. She nearly forgot, though thanks to Harley (who drove over to tell them) the two remembered and quickly hurried to go shopping…but first: they needed Drew out which was simple. The green haired teenager thought the two were just being annoying, they were. However this time it was planned out. They also needed to keep Drew out- their plan was risky but it was the only one they could come up with.

The three credited Drew's new friend, even though she had no idea that today was as special as it is.

Misty watched her friend Dawn hyperventilate. She patted the bluenette's back hoping to ease her.

"You could relax, you know," said Misty.

Dawn shook her head stubbornly, "And let you cook? No way!" She remembered the awful taste of Misty's cake. "What I mean is, to be traditional; it should be Harley who cooks for us."

"I don't trust him," Misty whispered.

"Like I'd really leave him alone in the house." Dawn whispered back.

"What about me?" asked Brock. He finished picking flowers outside.

"You're a guest!" Dawn exclaimed eccentrically.

"I'm a guest too!" said Harley.

"Well you wanted to help," said Misty coldly. She glared at him, the stare meant _shut up_ and Harley knew that.

Harley pretended to cry, "Oh the coldness! If only I had a little niece or nephew who'd call me Uncle Harley…"

"Soledad's far too young." said Brock.

"Not Soledad, Drew!" Harley waved his hands up in the air moving them back and forth. He jumped up and shaked. Brock, Misty, and Dawn exchanged worried looks.

Dawn finally placed the words Harley said into her mine.

_Drew niece or nephew….oh yeah…wait..WHOA! _

"Harley!" Dawn gasped. At the same time, Misty digested the words into a full sentence, she kicked the flamboyant brother in the shin.

"Oh the pain!" Harley grabbed his shin. "The pain!"

"Pervert." said Misty, she returned back to cooking.

"Don't embarrass Drew." said Brock. He wished Harley would listen, but he knew otherwise.

Dawn smiled, she tapped Misty's shoulder to look over at the finished product.

"I remember that picture!" the redhead said. The picture showed the three of them as fifth graders. They were all engaged in a snow ball fight.

…

"It's not that small!" said May. "My, what a beautiful garden!" She admired the red roses especially.

Drew pushed the cart and stopped at the sidewalk. He groaned, his emerald eyes widened. He thought- no hoped he was seeing things. In the driveway was Harley's car.

May saw a purple haired girl…or boy run through. The girl or boy picked up the cart and pushed it off. He or she ran back and picked Drew up and spun him around while the teenager was held in his arms.

"Let me go you idiot!" Drew yelled. Harley protested, he eyed May. He dropped Drew onto the grass and picked up May.

"Ahh!"

"Let her go you freakin-"

"OUCH!" said Harley. May tugged his hair so he would let her go. She landed on the grass next to Drew. The two looked at each other and laughed.

"Such abuse towards me!"

"His or her voice is high pitched." May whispered into Drew's ear when they got up.

"Oh they are here!" said Dawn. A black rose headband was on her head. She wore her special white and black short sleeved knee-length dress. The bluenette also borrowed Misty's sophisticated black sandles

Misty came outside next. She held a present behind her back and ran towards May and Drew. Her medium length hair was let down, a red clip that Dawn suggested she wear was on the right side of her hair. She wore a red and white stripped sleeveless shirt and a tan colored skirt. She wore regular white sandals. She did not want to dress up but someone….(Dawn) insisted…persisted…over and over…

May felt out dressed, she wore only simple clothing while the two other girls dressed up. They both looked kind and sincere, and not to leave out- happy.

"I'm sorry," May apologized. "I didn't know-"

"It's okay! I have some extra clothes if you want." said Misty.

"If it's needed-"

"Do you want to borrow some clothing?" Dawn interrupted.

"Oh, okay." said May. She followed Misty up to her room. The redhead handed May a white dress with black sandles.

"You have a lot of designer clothes."

"Oh thanks," said Misty dryly. She hoped she did not appear rude when she said that. "My sisters give me a lot of clothes." She lied.

"Umm…was that a boy or girl?" asked May.

She didn't want to appear rude at all, she was wondering. She leaned more towards girl but she thought it would be polite to ask.

Misty chuckled; she closed her eyes as tears of joy ran down. It was a gag for people to question Harley's gender which was what made it so hilarious. _If only he heard it, _she thought.

"A boy, he's Drew's older brother. He has a sister named Soledad too, she's in collage right now." said Misty.

"I wonder why he hugged me. I'm May by the way, nice to meet you." May extended her arm out. Misty shook her hand and smiled.

"You don't want to know…" Misty murmured.

"Hmm?" May asked.

"Uhh nothing!" said Misty.

…

"Why exactly are you here?" asked Drew.

He had to introduce May to Misty, Dawn, and now _Harley. _Brock was fine, his two friends could've been worst; but his brother? Just _no. _

"Look around Drew," said Dawn.

The emerald-eyed boy glanced at every aspect of the room. He wondered how he missed the fresh smell of food and the flowers freshly picked out. A few balloons were tied to chairs. He did not understand what the occasion was. He wondered if perhaps it was someone's birthday. His eyes widened; his mother. Was it his mother's birthday? He would've remembered, right?

"Are you alright Drew?" asked Dawn. She noticed the look in his eye, the stare when he was in deep thought. She had a feeling he wouldn't remember, Misty and her did not remember at all. But there was something else in his green irises. She gasped with realization: he was remembering his mother.

"I'm fine, I just hope Misty took no part in cooking," Drew said smugly.

"Trust me, she didn't do much of the cooking." said Dawn.

Her mind still wondered onto what her friend could possibly have been thinking. So much possibilities, but it must've been something about his mother. Her death was his darkest moment in life. Everyone had a dark moment, if they have not, then they have not been threw it yet. Some have more than others, for some, it occurs everyday.

Drew told Dawn and Misty his mother died in a car accident; but something seemed off. Misty didn't seem to believe it, Dawn remembered what Misty said-

"_Well that's what he told me."_

The bluenette knew her friend long enough to know that she did not mean that Drew probably lied about it. She meant that there is more to it; Dawn has that suspicion also. She was not going to force it out of Drew, she could only wonder what else happened. It didn't seem accidental to her.

….

"Oh my, this is wonderful." said May as she plunged her fork back in. The food was one of the best she has ever tasted, _Dawn has talent, _May thought.

"I helped with that," said Misty.

Drew smirked, "You can have mine May, just don't choke, okay?"

"What's wrong with it?" asked Dawn, offended.

"If Misty helped, something must have been wrong with it." replied Drew.

"It tastes good though!" May protested. She picked up Drew's fork, dipped it into the pasta, and shoved it into Drew's mouth. "See?"

"Hey! What the hell was that for?" said Drew.

"Thank you May! Someone needed to do that, only thing I did was open up the pasta container." grumbled Misty.

"Could've told me that before,"

"Why do you say Misty's cooking is so bad?" asked May.

"Why can't you be like that Drew?" replied Misty.

"He's too proud to be nice," said Dawn.

Drew reached his hand out to grab another donut. A soft hand with a tingling feeling was underneath his instead. He turned around and saw that the hand belonged to May.

She pulled her hand out quickly, much to his dismay. "Sorry!" May apologized.

"It's okay, keep it." said Drew. A wide grin appeared on Harley's face.

"NEICES! NEWPHEWS! ONE, THEN TWO! NO, FIVE OR MORE." Harley sang out.

"Shut up!"

"You're finally becoming a man!" yelled Harley. He pretended to cry while squeezing May.

"If Drew is ever mean to you, tell your Brother-in-law Harley about it! I'll straight him up-"

"Why do you always harass Drew over his love life? What about _yours." _Misty quickly cut in.

"It's not as exciting! But oh my! Yesterday- who hit me?"

"Please, get off of me." said May. She pushed the flamboyant man off of her and stepped a few feet away from him.

"Y-you? Well! I hope you are that rough in-"

"I'm trying to eat here," Dawn complained.

"I think I'm done eating," said Brock.

"I'm going to clean something, anything, just to get away from _it._" said Misty. She dropped her plate in the sink and went outside. She slammed the door shut.

"I'll help," said Brock.

"I'll go see what they are going to do…" said Dawn.

Harley grinned, "Now it's only the three of us. I should tell you all about little Drewy as a kid-"

"Come on May, I'm not going to leave you alone to listen to him."

May shook her head, "It's okay, I'll hear what he has to say." She giggled.

"No!" Drew yelled nervously.

"Are they bad?" asked May.

She wondered if they were embarrassing perhaps, Harley seemed to live a very positive life. She knew he was a good brother deep down inside and limited himself. He seemed like someone who told the funny moments and never bothered to bring up the bad.

"One time, our mother bought us a bunny! The next day, Drew took it out to play and he lost it!" said Harley.

"Hey! It ran away." said Drew

"And you let it," Harley whimpered.

May sat down quietly and listened to everything the two siblings said. She thought of Drew's world compared to hers: they were different. Hers was drama-filled and depressing, his never seemed to get old. His friends teased him yet still cared for him. His brother is healthy and in his life, his sister is in a university, and his parents are both alive and healthy…right?

"You could tell your mom he's bothering you, or your male parent." May bitterly said male parent, she hated saying the word _father_ or _dad_. It reminded her of Norman, her father. That cheating, heartless, and failure-of-a-father

"Harley's my legal guardian," said Drew. He tried to avoid looking weak at all cost. _Not in front of her, _he told himself. Something about her…something about May's eyes showed pain. Drew knew she didn't need to deal with anymore sadness in her life.

"Oh…" May managed to say. Her mind ran a million thoughts through: Where were his parents, what happened, and how long ago? She knew she mustn't ask, it would be of bad taste too.

"Yeah…"

The feeling seemed to grow tenser by the minute- until Harley broke it.

"I want sexual tension, not awkward tension!"

As usual, Drew went on to insult and complain about his brother. May sighed, they seemed more like monkeys than humans when they fought.

The brunette came up with a realization: she just met him today. Why did it seem like they have known each other far longer than that? They didn't need to open up to each other to see through. It was complicated; May wasn't sure about Drew, but something told her that something tragic occurred in his life.

She didn't know what though.

x-x-x

"And that," said Dawn, "is two hundred ways to fold up and wear a scarf! Any questions?" The bluenette looked over to see Misty boredly paying attention, Brock and Harley left, Drew's eyes were starting to shut close, May was asleep.

"Are we done yet?" groaned Misty. "Oh, Brock had to go home. He said bye, Harley went to a club."

"Yes! We're done. I see someone fell asleep, the other is falling asleep." Dawn observed.

"Crazy how they just spent a day with each other, I swear, they could pass for childhood friends!" said Misty.

"We really didn't talk with May that much however," Dawn sighed, she wished she had.

"Yeah, I wanted to get to know her more." Misty said. "Hey, how's that Prince Charming guy?"

"He didn't text me at all today. What about Cinderella man?" Dawn giggled at the nicknames.

"Same here, I got no texts."

"You know; I feel as if the two are closer than they seem…..one of them had to be in Twinleaf Town." said Dawn.

"Obviously, and had a connection to Gary Oak, right?" said Misty.

Dawn wondered if her friend wanted to meet the mysterious boy in person, Misty no longer thought he was a pedophile, she seemed to believe him. Dawn didn't talk with his friend much. They mainly argued, yet she couldn't stop saying something to him everyday…whether its nice or rude.

"Only time will tell," said Dawn. She glanced over at May, who's head laid on Drew's neck.

"Want to just leave them?" said Misty tiredly. "I'm tired."

"Yeah, they'll wake up eventually." Dawn smiled.

"Good night," said Misty.

"Sweet dreams! Don't let the bugs bite." Dawn replied. She took her camera out and pointed it at Drew and May. She grinned and pressed the button.

"Perfect," said Dawn. "Just perfect." Tomorrow, she planned on getting the picture developed.

x-x-x

**Much longer than I thought…o.o I noticed this whole chapter had more on screen interaction and moments than Ikari and Poke so far..don't worry guys! Most of it is off-screen, you'll see what exactly they talk about. Oh…Ash and Paul next chapter;) Some of you may be wondering what they are doing, and why May woke up in an empty house- that will be answered next chapter. I hope this was contestshippy enough for you all:D ~Dawn. This is 42 pages by the way O_O; the whole story. **


	5. She's a lady and shoudn't be messed with

**A/N**

**Hoenn Master~ I was born in America, my parents however struggled with English a lot at that time. (Accents messed up words, etc.) so they talked Tagalog around me, before I went to school I became more accustomed to Tagalog. In a way, it is my first language. I talked Tagalog before English xD. Thank you for the tips, I couldn't find that double past error one you mentioned, I found the "too and to" mistakes however. **

**Thank you for your encouraging words on the flame; I might be able to put in your OC somewhere. A high possibility; I could use him for a Pokeshipping scene.**

**Kaileychicago~ Thanks xD. Glad you thought so, I do feel like I may be giving Contestshipping/Drew a lot more screen time so far. The Ikari and Poke is implied off-screen. I'll put more on-screen scenes on for them;) **

**Oh yeah…I got Ikari and Contest done- and Oldrival has a possible story idea. Would you guys like Oldrival? Poke…I have some ideas….I'm not so sure how its gonna end. I have a few scenes with them, but that's it so far. **

**Songs I listened to while writing this: Umbrella-Rihanna, She's a lady- Forever the sickest kids, Things I'll never say- Avril Lavigne, etc.  
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**-Warning: I did not go over anything so far: spell check, etc. I'll go over that tomorrow, I wanted to get the chapter up as soon as possible today.- Very sorry for my laziness, trust me, some parts are subjected to change.  
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**-x-x-x-**

May stretched out her hands, she expected to be in the comfort of her own bed. She felt something to the side of her, she thought it was probably a pillow that surrounded her bed. Only pillows didn't have hair…

She couldn't remember what happened last night, she was tired and fell asleep somewhere? Or did she go home? She turned her head and gasped, next to her was Drew.

"What happened?" said May sleepily. She yawned and closed her eyes once more. She expected to wake up in her bed, she must have went home or that whole experience was just a dream. May opened her sapphire orbs once more, nothing changed.

"I see someone's up early." said Misty.

The redhead was a day person who enjoyed sleeping during the nights. She was the opposite of her friend Dawn who hated waking up in the morning at six A.M.

"W-what happened?" May stuttered nervously. She had no clue what happened before she slept, to her, that seemed like a very bad thing. Her mother Caroline always told her never to drink sake when she was underage. May would respond saying alcohol was gross. She wasn't sure whether she drank or not, she had a feeling she didn't- Misty, Dawn, and Drew weren't like that.

"Dawn was giving a fashion lesson on something, you both fell asleep. Don't worry, nothing bad happened." chuckled Misty.

May blushed, her first of the day. She had a feeling more blushes would follow. "You didn't wake me?" she asked.

"Are you a morning person or a night person?" asked Misty.

"Hmm…night..not really..morning…at a reasonable time." said May.

"You're an afternoon person I believe," Misty replied. "I wasn't very sure if you would be bothered. Dawn hates being woken up, Drew too. He's lazy though."

"Oh! It wouldn't have been any trouble at all." said May. She wondered about how Paul and Ash were, she wondered if they noticed she was gone. She was embarrassed, first- she fell asleep when someone else was speaking, second- she had no remembrance of what happened the night before- third, she possibly worried her friends at home.

"Ahh, I see. Dawn has left over cake, she was planning on giving it to you in the morning." said Misty as she pulled out a transparent container with a glossy red cover.

"Oh its okay! I would feel bad if I had to take something from you, Dawn did make it." said May.

"She wouldn't mind, Drew told us how you two met. Your house mates never bothered to grocery shop and check on you? Such….listen, I just want to give them a piece of my mind." said Misty. She teased Drew a fair amount, but she never ignored him. Dawn and her made sure he never went hungry, they always check on him too. However, the trio is usually together.

"They are much nicer than that, they have just been…busy?" May questionably said busy. She had no idea what Paul and Ash were doing now.

Misty noticed the interrogative tone in her voice, May seemed unsure herself. "You don't know, right?" asked Misty.

May sighed sadly, "I don't know where they have been the whole summer." And that was all Misty Waterflower needed to know. It wasn't because May did not like nor trust Misty, it was because she didn't want to pour her heart out to people she just recently met. May was on the edge yester, dangerously close to telling Drew everything. It seemed far to rushed to her, she wanted to know them much better.

Misty pulled May into a comforting hug, "When we go, I'll speak to them about how rude they are acting." Misty whispered.

"You don't need to," responded May. "It's too much trouble-"

"It's fine," said Misty. "You might want to tell Drew you're leaving. This may surprise you, but Drew doesn't hate you. Harley liked you a lot too. Brock said you were a sweet girl. Dawn and I think you are so well-mannered, but, don't be afraid if you want something; okay?" Misty told her.

May nodded, she was different…when she was younger, she was quite rash. May wasn't the gentle, well-mannered, and some what weak girl people thought of her as…

May remembered her dad, Norman. She remembered the incident that occurred years ago….

_-flashback-_

"No Max, the puppy is mine." said May to her brother. The eight year old girl hated sharing her favorite stuffed toy with her four year old brother.

"I want to pet it," grumbled Max, he crossed his arms together in protest.

"You can pet Haru, the cow!" said May happily. She grabbed her cow plushie and handed it to her baby brother sweetly. Max's eyes lit up, he and May played with their toys. Max played the brother, May was the sister as usual.

Max turned to face his sister, "When will mommy be back?"

May shrugged, for a child of eight she had a lot of knowledge. She was matured for her age, someone indeed needed to step up once her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her father seemed to be a wreck, she didn't know where he was.

"I saw daddy yesterday, he was talking to the nurse!" said Max.

"He's home?" May practically yelled. The brunette was formally daddy's-little-girl, she loved her father, she and Max missed him dearly. May stood up and hugged her little brother before she marched up the stairs quietly (not wanting to disturb her mother who slept in the bedroom downstairs) She had a habit of never knocking on doors.

May opened up her parent's door. Her eyes were full of shock and pain. She felt betrayed. While May helped with Max and tended to all of her mother's needs her father did nothing. May's grandmother was there helping, but her father became a mess. They barely saw each other, now May had a feeling what her dad has been doing.

Her father was cheating on her mother, he was kissing a young woman with pink hair. May saw that hair style somewhere. She couldn't seem to put her finger on it. "The nurse," May faintly whispered. Her father was kissing the nurse from her mother's first hospital visit! His eyes were closed, her back was turned.

"Out!" May yelled. She hoped she didn't disturb her mother, but she was too anger to think about that now.

"May!" Norman yelled. He dropped the young nurse from his grasp, she fell on the bed and complained.

The brunette was furious, "You miss complain about being dropped on a bed? You have been doing worst than that! You know he's married, why are you perusing a married man? You have no life, NO LIFE!"

"May!" Norman said, "Don't say such rude things!"

"Shut up, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. And here you are, yelling at me for being rude? You are cheating on your wife! She could die any minute, she loves you! She asks where you are- me and Max had no clue where you have been!" May yelled.

"Honey-"

"Don't honey me, just get out you witch!" May yelled. The tone of her voice was enough to scare the nurse. "You and my father are through FYI."

Norman looked angrily at his daughter, he couldn't remain calm anymore. "May Maple, how dare you-" He was cut off when May slapped him. "You have no respect for me anymore."

"Get out, I don't want to see your face again!" May yelled.

"May-"

"Shut up! I hate you, get your things and go live with that..that whore!" May fought off the tears that wanted to fall.

Norman was caught in between. He loved his daughter and his son, he didn't believe his wife was the right one though. He acknowledged that she was a good woman however. If Norman left, he and Nurse Joy could live peacefully together…his daughter hated him, his in-law was wary of him since she moved in.

Norman took out three suite cases and started to pack. When he finished, he got no good bye kiss or hug. May gave him a cold shoulder, Max was too busy watching television. Norman tried to walk over, but May stopped him.

"I forbid you from seeing Max again! You are banned from this house." she announced shakily.

Norman knew why he was leaving; it wasn't because her words stung him, it was because he wanted to live with the woman he loved. "Don't talk to me like that!"

"I wouldn't be the one to speak right now, you are not my father. You have no right being here- get out and do whatever you want in life. I don't care for you anymore." said May.

Norman left, he moved in with his new girlfriend and lived a life that reminded him of his collage years. He never once mentioned his first family.

Caroline filled for divorce, she was heart broken and devastated but was strong. Her daughter May and her mother brought her up. She made a recovery and was breast cancer free for a good amount of years.

Max didn't know what happened to his dad, when he got older he developed the same hatred May harbors for him.

Caroline's old friend from collage moved to Petalburg City with her son Ash to help out. Caroline needed all the help she could get, her mother was strong and helped bring May and Max up after Norman left.

-_End flashback-_

_That May was so strong, so sure of herself. I'm more gentle now, but I don't regret all the words I said to him that day. _

"Drew?" May whispered softly into Drew's ear. He responded by begging for five more minutes and turning his head to lay down on the other side.

"Wake up you cabbage head," said Misty.

"Ten more minutes," Drew groaned.

Misty sighed, "I'm walking May home so wake up cabbage head!"

Drew immediately opened his emerald eyes. The eyes that caused all of this, mystifying and beautiful in May's opinion.

"So…will we see each other again?" said Drew. He shrugged, his eyes avoided eye contact, instead he stared the opposite way. Misty smirked, she knew he was trying to keep his cool.

"Of course we will." said May. She smiled and hugged Drew. "See you soon." May said sweetly. She felt tempted to kiss his cheek all of a sudden. She had the most fun in a while and it was all thanks to the generosity of Drew, Misty, and Dawn. But, it would have never started without Drew.

"H-hey.." May began. She stared at her feet, she didn't know how to say a simple word. Why did she suddenly feel nervous about saying thank you?

"Yes?" said Drew coolly.

"Thanks," said May. Drew shrugged, a small smile formed on his mouth.

"It was nothing," he replied. Misty winked at him, Drew knew that he would get some teasing from Misty and Dawn soon enough.

-x-x-x-

Ash hated how forgetful he was, he always reminded himself to leave May something yet never did so. He wished they had more time to talk, but with basketball coming up that year Paul and him were busy. They usually came home late at night when May was most likely sleeping- but they left so early she wasn't up yet.

"Paul," said Ash, "We need to spend more time with May." Paul didn't bother to answer, he continued walking as if Ash had said nothing.

"We haven't been talking to her lately!" Ash shouted.

"She isn't my friend, don't bring me into this Ash." Paul said.

That angered Ash, he felt it was impossible that Paul had no opinion on a girl he has known and lived with for more than two years. May was a tender girl who wasn't very strong, she needed Ash and Paul more than anything and all summer they have ignored her. She was his best friend, some could say Ash was over protective- he wouldn't deny that. He was. She was a gentle girl who needed gentleness and constant attention in life. The raven haired boy vowed to spend more time with his fragile-hearted friend more.

Paul didn't understand Ash nor May. But mostly Ash. He didn't understand, May wasn't weak, she was strong but shaken badly when Gary broke her heart. However, much years before that Ash protected her like she was a small child. May was too polite to say anything about it.

Paul took the house key out of his jacket pocket, he cussed lightly as he dropped it on to the cold night floor. As he closed the door he completely forgot about Ash who was about to come in. The raven haired boy opened the door with his own key.

Paul walked up the stairs- he felt unusually generous at that moment and decided to see how May was. He opened her door and saw nothing. The bed was perfectly neat- as if no one was on it all day.

"She isn't here," Paul grumbled as he walked down the stairs. He wasted a minute going up the stairs, checking, and looking around to find out that May wasn't there.

"What?" said Ash. He dashed up the stairs and opened every door to check. "Where is she!"

"Calm down," Paul rolled his eyes, he knew May was probably okay.

"How can I? She's not here!" Ash yelled back.

"Maybe she went to a party." Paul suggested. "She can't stay here all day, you know?" He sighed: stupidity.

"She never left a note! I'm calling the police, what if she got kidnapped?" Ash panicked, he felt many emotions stir up in his body. He was nervous because he didn't know where May was, he felt guilty for not spending much time with her, he was sad that she wasn't home, and, he was mad at Paul who had the guts to tell him to calm down.

"She'll be here soon, just stay up and wait for your daughter to come back." Paul said impatiently.

"She's not my daughter,"

"You treat her like a child." said Paul. "Don't even bother responding," With that, Paul impatiently walked into his room and shut the door close. He had no tolerance for Ash's over protective behavior, he was tired and needed to rest.

And so, Ash waited for three hours before falling asleep.

"Dude, your house is so big." said Misty. The red head looked up and gazed upon the beautiful architecture. The house resembled her old home in Cerulean City, the city she used to live in before she moved with her parents to Twinleaf Town. She fantasized about going back to the beautiful house with the grand piano that was placed close to the porcelain, spiral stair case. She began to feel unusually excited about going in.

"It doesn't feel as comfortable as your house does. Yours is much more lively." said May. She noticed Misty's blue-green eyes that seemed to light up when she saw May's home.

"It reminds me of my old house." said Misty.

"Oh really?" May asked.

"Yes, my first house- actually. Do you have a piano inside?" Misty asked.

"No, but in my mother's house she has one. My mom loves music, she loves the piano. When we were younger my mother would play a song for my brother and me. She moved swiftly, she made it look so easy." May remembered her attempt to play something. She grinned at the memory. Instead of playing a sweet, soft melody it had a Halloween like feeling to it.

"I can't play, my dad used to play for my sisters and me before.." she stopped there. It was too painful for her to bear. She missed her parents so much….

"I'm sorry," said May. She easily recognized the sudden pain-filled note in her voice.

"It's okay…you're very sweet May." said Misty.

"Thanks," said May.

The two silently walked to the front porch. May pressed the doorbell, she waited a minute but no one answered. She knocked on the door impatiently.

"I have a key," said May. She opened the front door to see the house just as she left it. "And this is-" May tripped on a shoe placed close to the front door.

"You okay? I'm going to guess that belongs to one of your friends…" said Misty.

"Yeah, I'm fine." said May. She noticed the black, white, and navy blue colors. She knew it belonged to Ash, she saw him unbox the shoes.

Ash woke up to the sudden noise, his eyes shot open immediately. He had fallen asleep. He looked over to see May on the floor. _I can't believe Paul, his shoe caused May to trip!_

"May!" screamed Ash. Misty looked up to see someone running towards the brunette immediately.

"Are you alright? What happened? I can't believe Paul left his shoe there!" Ash said as he helped May up to her standing position again.

"Did you even see the shoe? God, why do you blame others immediately." said Misty.

"And who are you?" said Ash. He stood in front of May, his arms were spread out in front of her.

"None of your business, I'm just saying, look at the shoe." said Misty. She rolled her eyes. May's friend was annoying her- and they just met.

"That's my shoe! Paul probably-"

"You left it there! God, just shut up okay?" Misty said.

"Guys, don't fight." said May strongly. Ash was surprised to hear May say a word so…surely.

"Sorry, your friend here just started annoying me." said Misty.

"Ash, don't blame Paul for your mistake. It's fine, I'm okay, Misty's a friend. I stayed over in her house. She lives with three friends too, Drew and Daw-"

"A boy? You met a boy?" said Ash.

"Because the male population is so small that it's rare. Common sense dude, stop acting like she's a weak kid, it annoys me." said Misty.

"She isn't strong! She needs to be protected or she'll break." Ash was getting annoyed with the redhead. She was attractive, he admitted that part, but bitter. She reminded him of Paul. In fact, she was the female version of Paul.

"You're confusing kindness and weakness. She definitely wasn't weak when she pushed Harley off of her yesterday." Misty said.

May's eyes widened, she was protected so much by Ash. She wondered if she loved him, she felt that Ash loved her. But…did she love him? She wondered if the love she felt was sibling-like. She wondered if Ash was just like the older brother she wished she had, she leaned more towards that love.

Drew, May, and Misty weren't like Ash. Harley and Brock weren't either, especially Harley. She wished she spoke more, she and Misty had a new found bond with music. Drew was the opposite of Ash in so many ways. May wanted to get to know Dawn more, she didn't have a chance just yet….

"Harley? Who is he! How dare you not arrest him for-"

"He's gay! He was just making perverted remarks about May giving him a niece or nephew." Misty said. "You know, you'd probably listen if it were May to talk. I'm sure that if May felt she was in any kind of danger she would've said so. She did push Harley off."

"I didn't feel any sense of danger. I had the most fun in my whole life yesterday. I hope that I can continue enjoying their presence." said May.

"Tell me about this Drew guy."

"He's had only one girlfriend in the past. But they broke up." said Misty.

"He stays with two girls?" asked Ash. May nodded.

"I don't want you to see him _ever _May-" Ash was cut off.

_Slap!_

Misty lost her temper often, this was no acceptation. She strongly disliked that raven haired boy who thought he knew everything when he didn't. He didn't know her, he didn't know Drew, heck, Misty bet he didn't even know May.

Ash touched the spot where Misty slapped him. He looked angrily at her, he did not want someone like her influencing May.

"He wasn't like that," May spoke up. She saw the sincerity in Drew's eyes. She remembered the sincerity in Gary's eyes too…but this was different. Gary constantly complimented her, constantly. Drew didn't fill up their conversation with _you're beautiful, I love you, _and _you are such a sweetheart. _Gary's used, as she found out, the same pick-up lines he used for other girls before her. While she knew Misty took it far by slapping Ash, she couldn't help feel that her intentions were good. The red head defended her friend who she knew better than anyone else- including May.

"May, you can't know a guy in a day." Ash said.

"We're just friends, can you trust me on them? If something was wrong then I won't follow, I'm smarter than that." said May.

Ash didn't know what to say, he was out of words. He always thought May was a fragile girl, did he really not know that much about her?

"If he hurts you, I swear I'll-"

"If he hurts May then I'll punch him before you, okay?" said Misty annoyingly. Ash hated when she interrupted. Okay, he gets it, she's strong. He doesn't need her constantly reminding him.

"Can you let me finish a sentence without interrupting me?" Ash asked.

"I'm capable of doing so, I just choose not to." said Misty. She was definitely the female version of Paul.

"I'm not in the mood for you to get smart with me." said Ash.

"So, you admit I'm smart. Thanks for the compliment." Misty smirked.

"Shut up, you know what I mean."

"It's not polite for you to tell a lady to shut up." said Misty. She mocked her sister Violet's voice whenever she told the red head to act like a lady.

"Who said you were a girl?" Ash confidently said.

"You don't say that to a girl-" said May quietly. She watched as Misty angrily stepped on Ash's foot. "I told you." May whispered.

"Wrench." Ash mumbled. "I have basketball practice about four hours a day- after that Paul and I go and work out-"

"Save that for the girls who are easily impressed by physical appearance." Misty told him. _Like me, _her inner voice whispered. That was the first thing that caught her attention with Gary; his good looks and beautiful eyes. She was young though, she was naïve about love.

"We come home late at night, I have to visit my mother and he goes to visit his brother everyday. We don't have practice today though." said Ash.

"How's my mother?" asked May shakily.

At first, Ash wondered if May was indeed the strong girl Misty described. Now he was sure who was right: him. She acted like anyone would, didn't mean she was strong- right?

"Your mother?" asked Misty. Ash rolled his eyes- she came in the conversation- again.

"She has breast cancer..it returned and it's not going well so far." said May.

"I'm sorry, I hope she feels better. If there is anything I can do then tell me. Cerulean City has a nice hospital, the best in Kanto actually. She could go there for better treatment-"

"She doesn't want to." May sighed. Her mother didn't want to go far for what she described as "the same thing".

"Where does she live?" asked Misty.

"Petalburg City, Hoenn." said May.

"So she probably gets treatment from the hospital here?" Misty asked. May nodded. "The hospital here is good, but for better treatment then she should go to Kanto at least. I used to live there and they have some of the best hospitals in this region."

"I used to live in Kanto also." said Ash quietly.

"Sinnoh is about three hours away from Hoenn. While not as advanced as Kanto, they are very good to. I rank them as second, Unova is third, Hoenn is fourth, Johto is fifth, Orange Islands are sixth." said Misty.

She continued talking about what each region had to offer, May and even Ash both listened to what she had to say.

"You seem to know a lot about the hospitals, and what treatments they have to offer." said May.

"My mom was a doctor, my dad was a university professor for medicine in the Kanto university. We had to move though because my parents got promotions: both for another region. My dad became the head minister of the university of Sinnoh while my mom ran one of the top ten hospitals in the region." Misty continued.

"You want to be a doctor?" asked Ash. He didn't like Misty, but he couldn't help but admire her knowledge. She was smart- which definitely makes her the female version of Paul.

"Yes, a pediatrician actually." said Misty.

"You'd probably scare all the kids- ow- away." said Ash. Misty lost her temper once again and kicked Ash in the shin.

"I can be nice when I want to." said Misty.

"Then why aren't you nice to me?" asked Ash.

"I don't think you deserve it." she replied.

"I'm going to tell my mom about Sinnoh, it is close by. Thanks Misty!" said May.

"You're welcome," said Misty. "See, I can be nice."

"Not to boys though…" Ash whispered. He sighed in relief, she didn't hear him.

Misty looked at the clock, it was nine-thirty A.M. already. "Listen, I have to go. Bye May, have a good day."

"You too! See you soon," May replied.

"No good bye for me?" said Ash.

Misty glared, "Shut up."

Ash mimicked her voice earlier, "It's not lady like to say shut-" Misty was tired of him speaking, she wasn't in the mood for his annoying voice. She kicked him once causing him to yelp in pain. Without turning back she slammed the door shut and ran off. She wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

x-x-x

"You kicked him?" asked Dawn. She had been listening to her friend retell the story about one of May's housemates. She shivered when Misty mentioned her reactions. To Dawn, the boy was treated much worst than Drew.

"A few times before that, I lost count." _Once…or what that a hit? Didn't I step on his foot? _She tapped her chin as she tried to figure out the number of times she kicked him.

"More than five, less than ten. You lost count, right?" said Drew. His attention continued back to his book called _Midnight. _The novel was a twisted story about Cinderella. But none the less, still as girly as ever. He was bored to death with the book. He only picked it up and started scanning through it because he knew it was going to be required to be read during the school year. The literature teacher always picked fairy tales for juniors, she had a strange fetish for romantic fantasy stories.

"That's not good," said Dawn. She shook her head with disappointment in her eyes. "You got angry, but you shouldn't have done that Mist."

"I know, maybe I over reacted." said Misty. Last thing she wanted was _Mother Dawn _to come out. That side of Dawn was some what like an alter ego, except it was no secret. When their friend started lecturing them they knew the more mature side of her personality was out.

"Maybe?" Drew chuckled.

"I want you to go and apologize right now." said Dawn. "What if he got seriously hurt young lady?" She tapped her foot on the wood floor. Her chin was tilted upward causing her to appear closer to Misty's height.

"He wasn't the other times, I'm not so sure about the last time." Misty answered. She remembered him cry out in pain, but that was it. The girl had no memory of where she kicked him to…

"Where did you kick him?" Drew asked. His attention seemed to temporarily be towards Misty. He placed the bookmark in his novel and dropped it to the side of him.

"I don't know…." said Misty. She shrugged and tried to remember where. "Oh…."

"Was it…?"

"No," Misty answered. "It was a little below the right knee."

"Good, no, not good." said Dawn. She dialed a number on the landline and waited for a response. She tapped her foot patiently while Drew and Misty exchanged confused looks. Her face lit up when someone answered.

"Hi May," said Dawn cheerfully. "Is a raven haired boy there?" Misty never mentioned his name in the story, Dawn wondered if she knew his name or not.

"Um yeah, he's icing his knee- his name's Ash by the way," May replied.

"Bring this phone over to him, Misty has something to say to him." Dawn demanded. She turned to face Misty and smirked. The redhead walked over reluctantly and brought the phone to her ears.

"Sorry," Misty quickly said. She slammed the phone down before Ash had a chance to answer. "There," Misty grumbled.

"Close enough," said Drew.

"I expected better, oh well." said Dawn sadly. Her friend's pride and hatred got in the way of a better apology.

x-x-x

"That….bitch," Ash whispered to himself. He rarely cussed unless he was mad at a person. He has sworn three times in his whole life, one of them was towards Gary Oak.

"Talking to yourself I see," Paul emotionlessly commented. He tiredly surfed through old books about plots he didn't quite like or understand.

"May's new friend, Misty. That girl..she…she hit and kicked me maybe four times. She was forced to say sorry too! All she did was say sorry then she hung up." Ash complained.

The girl reminded Paul of himself, except probably more happier. "Is she intelligent?"

"Yes, she's beautiful too, but horrible! She's the female version of you." Ash admitted. He hoped Paul would keep quiet about Misty. Last thing he needed was her having knowledge of his opinion on her looks.

"Then she must be great," Paul dropped the dull book next to him on the couch, he had enough of the constant pondering thoughts on romance.

He never understood why some believed in love at fight sight, it all seemed cliché and fictional to him. He couldn't understand why some said the word love as if there was a meaning, to him, love had no meaning anymore. It was a word, a simple word that everyone says.

Right now, he was trying to connect the dots. The two mysterious females Ash and him have been talking to have always seemed much closer to them than they thought. He wanted to know who they were deep down, he forced himself to admit he cared so much because it could prove his intelligent ability.

Paul realized Ash had been continuously talking about May's new friend for quite some time, only he did not notice. "Ketchum, hear my words and hear them good-"

"What?" Ash replied sharply.

Paul pointed his index finger towards the ceiling. His elbow was rested on his knee, his eyes were still as emotionless as ever. "She's a lady, and ladies shouldn't be messed with."

"She's no lady," said Ash.

"A lady refers to a female in most cases, it could also be used for respect reflecting grace and beauty." Paul explained. "I am referring to her being a girl in this case. A tough girl to be more specific."

"She started it!" said Ash. He wondered- no he knew Paul was taking Misty's side.

"You both could point fingers at each other and play that game for all I care, I would just like to say this," Paul continued, "She could kick your ass, don't you forget that."

….

_Today started off horrible.- CM_

_Mine too, today was just crazy.-M_

Misty laid down on her comfortable bed, she was stressed and needed to calm down before doing anything else. Her room was like her private sanctuary, once the door was locked her thoughts roamed free without any boundaries. Her mind was eased with the relaxing surroundings, being alone was when she felt at peace the most.

_My day was much more hectic. Some….barbarian came in and kept arguing with me. __**It **__kept hitting me and interrupting me. -CM  
><em>

Ash loved the comfort of being by himself much more than being with Paul. He could do what he wanted and say what he wanted without someone criticizing, lecturing, or like today- hitting him.

_I had to deal with this annoying idiot with probably no life what so ever. I'm referring to mine as an it too. It judged without knowing anything.-M_

Misty didn't want to say this word, but she came to the conclusion: she _hated _Ash. She couldn't stand to hear him talk, she hated to see his face, she hated his brain, she hated _him. _To her, Ash was an annoying kid who was probably showered with everything he wanted.

_That person truly sounds like an idiot, I don't like people who judge without knowing. -CM  
><em>

"But that's over now," Misty said aloud. She was with one of her friends, someone who had a brain and a heart.

_Same here, your person sounds like a total bitch. Why was the person hitting you? Did he/she have a reason?-M_

Ash hated Misty but admired her at the same time. She was smart- and definitely beautiful, but she had anger issues. The red head had no street smarts, Ash thought he reacted like any worried friend would. She obviously wasn't used to that and had no clue what to do other than to react with violence.

_I was worried about my friend, it couldn't understand that. Maybe I overreacted but I was worried, wouldn't you over react if you thought something happened to your friend? -CM  
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She was gone now, Ash just had MW, a girl who had a beautiful heart and intelligent too. She was someone Ash wanted to meet someday, he has always wondered who the person behind the phone was.

_I probably would. I did once, remember? I thought you kidnapped Dawn or something like that. Maybe he/she found it insulting?-M_

Ash never thought about that, maybe Misty was insulted…maybe. However, she insulted and used violence with him many times so that couldn't have been the reason.

_A good point, but probably not the answer.-CM  
><em>

_Hmm, I guess the only one who knows is the "barbarian" lol. I might be the type to find whatever it was an insult and not a genuine concern. The person I had to deal with judged without knowing, I couldn't stand what he/she said about my friend(s)-M_

Misty felt she got carried away, but she hated what he assumed about Drew. He was never that type, he would never take advantage of girls like that. Drew may not seem or appear like it, but he was taught to respect women as a kid. She knew her friend honored what he was thought, it was his mother who told him all that of course. While May and her recently met, Misty had a feeling that the brunette wasn't the weak girl Ash repeatedly described.

_The person could've acted rashly, without thinking probably. I have acted without thinking it through here and there. People don't think things through all the time. Sometimes we say words and do things we don't mean. -CM  
><em>

Ash knew he acted without thinking when he made assumptions about the boy who found May. Though, he did not trust the guy. May had nothing to say but positive feedback on his personality: sarcastic, a little egoistic, caring, isn't the type to blurt out his feelings, etc. She called him nice many times, though Ash didn't believe all those traits could mix together.

_Maybe..I act without thinking and saying. It just comes out, instinct, right?-M_

Misty wondered if she should've apologized better than that. A mature, grown-up like apology, not the sorry then hang up one she gave Ash. She pushed the thought to the side, Cinderella man had good points and seemed to relate to him quite a bit, but that did not change her opinion on Ash.

And her opinion remained the same.

_Yes, instinct. Exactly! You know, he/she needs some lessons from you. You're human, you make mistakes, but you admit them and think about them. The girl (yes, it was a girl) I met today doesn't have a self-conscience.-CM_

"Wow, Ash didn't seem to have a heart and that person lacked a conscience. We both met two disgraceful creatures today. Though maybe Cinderella man's was just mad.." Misty said.

_Maybe she does have one, maybe she just acted with instincts. Not everyone is as tough as they seem. And I'm telling you that from experience.-M_

Ash couldn't understand how the two of them got from discussing their latest enemies to debating on human traits, characteristics, and reasoning behind doings. MW reminded Ash of Paul; his intelligent and observing side. Technically speaking, MW was like Misty in a way too.

He pictured MW to look a little like Misty ever since the two met earlier today. Her fiery red head seemed to fit perfectly with MW's personality some what. The eyes seemed to fit MW too, much more than the hair. The red hair seemed to fit Misty. MW was many things, Misty's eyes were blueish-greenish yet they seemed to change with emotion; there was so much in them. Which is how it reminded Ash of MW, she had so much in her too.

_Maybe you're right. My opinion of her hasn't changed.-CM_

_My opinion of he/she hasn't changed either. However, we both understood the people more, in a way.-M_

_I guess that's the most important part.-CM _

"But don't," Misty began, "expect me too forgive the person," She pressed sent. The redhead placed her phone on her dresser and collapsed into her soothing bed once more. Her mind was cleared, Ash was out of her mind right now, she was relaxed and dead tired.

...

_But don't expect me to forgive the person. I'm going to sleep, good night.-M_

Ash lightly smiled, he knew she might have been sleeping now but sent her one more message:

_Sweet dreams.~CM_

...

It had taken forty-five minutes, but Paul was finished charting what they knew, he had many things in mind that he needed to find out.

**MW- sixteen- had a connection with Gary Oak/ex girlfriend- slight chance of being from this school- probably resides in Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh, initals: MW.**

**Dawn- sixteen- friend of MW- slight chance of being from this school- from Sinnoh, probably Twinleaf. Name: Dawn**

**DH:-sixteen- friend of MW and Dawn- not much is known. Probable residence: Sinnoh.**

He knew more information about Dawn, DH was mentioned a few times, MW is mentioned constantly, Paul could never forget about her.

"I know Dawn likes the color pink, fashion, don't get her mad, an obvious ditz, a klutz, troublesome, very girly, annoying." Paul wrote those descriptive words next to her name. While more of an opinion, he placed it in _personality. _

He had to be sneaky, he decided to ask the girl more first and foremost. He had her number after all.

_You know, I don't know much about you. _

Dawn wrote back quickly:

_What do you want to know? I'm not stupid, I won't randomly give you information about me._

Dawn found the first text disturbing, she was disturbed at what he said. Did he want to find out more about her? She didn't know who he was on top of that!

_Let's trade, you tell me some un-identity-revealing information, I'll tell you information about me. Deal?_

Paul had to give something up, he didn't plan on lying, he found the information useless anyways.

_Deal, but you have to go first. _

"Alright, we'll see how that plays out." Paul said.

_First off…my name is Paul…my last name is to be kept a secret for now. This is my short to the point story about me…_

He was temporarily whisked into time, the past no one but him knows. He didn't dwell in the past, but he did not completely forget about it. Sacrifices had to be made, and he would have felt guilty if he lied.

-x-x-x-

**I hope this chapter was pokeshippy enough for you guys:D Sorry for delay~ Ikarishipping is next.**

**I re-read the first two chapters and pretty much shouted "Fail at myself" I MIGHT rewrite some parts. A bit too much caps and exclamation points for me. **

**Ash might have been ooc with his sudden over-protective mode. I don't know if it was just me, but he would be the type to be protective over his friends. If you higher his protective meter up a little it could be like that.**

**May...hmm...I was worried on her characterization from the flashback. Though I guess when you're eight you're different than sixteen.  
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**I still need to figure out how to conclude Pokeshipping in the end. I have one for Oldrival, Contest, and Ikari one. **

**Oh, "She's a lady" by Forever the Sickest kids fitted Misty, I was listening to that song when I wrote this part xD. 56 pages on Microsoft word: 25,270 words so far. o.o Maybe more on here.  
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	6. Searching with hopes of finding

**Chapter 6**

**x-x-x**

**Hoenn Master~ Ahh thank you for the helpful t****ips, my vocabulary isn't that big, I admit. I'll try and add more word varieties in this. I'll go over the last one, I do admit to rushing on that one. I just wanted to get it up as soon as possible lol. **

**P.S.~ Tests got me very busy, I wasn't able to go online, lol.  
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**Kailey~ I looked over grammar mistakes only, ahh, I see what you mean. I think I write how I talk. I'll try and make sure I don't write like that xD. **

**Melissalee116 ~ Thank you for the review:D May I ask how what direction you saw it going? I'm a very curious person xD. **

_And so she listens….._

It all replayed into his mind: the emotion he felt, the thoughts he locked up, his dear mother and the eldest brother. His father, the rich yet cruel man who obsessed over riches far too much, Paul recalled the lessons he was forced to complete, the punishments he had to endure. Sadly, all the heartbreak and good byes were for honor, the second most important fetish in his father's mind.

_Unknown: Cho and father separated when I was about four, I see her from time-to-time when I feel like it. I feel in difference towards my sibling, yet I can't control my feet from coming over to see him while he studies in the university very few miles away from my place. I find love to be a cliché, unnecessary, and overrated thing, I despise many, many things, If I were to list them all down then it would take an eternity. Enjoying life is an unintelligent saying, we live for less than a century, we know we'll die, why cherish moments?_

Paul laid on his back lazily, his eyes were bored and empty. His fingers tapped the phone lightly, making small, short, and close to silent sounds as he wrote his part of the bargain. He checked the text thoroughly, his mind forcing his eyes to scan through it as if it was to be taken for a grade. Paul tapped the send button quickly, he waited for what he wanted to arrive in his inbox as soon as possible. His knees were raised off the silk bed sheets, his feet silently tapped the mattress as he abruptly waited for "troublesome" to reciprocate her part of the trade.

He rolled his eyes with frustration, how he wanted her to answer so he could complete more of the chart and attempt to unravel the truth between the two mysterious strangers. He grasped his phone, squeezing it lightly with displeasure. _Finally, _he thought with relief. Dawn responded back, as his brain began to digest the words she wrote, he noticed her answer was not what he requested, it completely violated the entire deal.

_Dawn: Love isn't cliché, yeah there's a lot of love stories out there but still! Love is love, no two stories are the same. You seem emotionless, you know? I want to know why, is it because of family? Family affects us you know? What happened, how do you feel about the divorce, why don't you like your brother, why don't you see your mom often, do you like your dad, tell me more please, oh, why do you want to know more about me anyways? -Dawn_

Paul pressed the heels of his hands over his eyes with agitation. He should've known what the outcome would have been. After all, Paul never expected her to genuinely answer as he wished. She was a curious one, someone who appeared to have a motherly-complex, but _annoying_. She bombarded him with questions, the majority of them he never apprehended her to reveal.

His hands clutched his arm, he was now positioned on the edge of his bed, his legs hanging off the edges, the tips of his toes kicked up and down. Dawn commented one more time:

_Dawn: Your name is Paul? That's a really cool name:D Why did you put your caller-I.D. as unknown, hmm?_

He found it strangely annoying when others questioned his name right after he said it. They had ears, did they not?

_Unknown: That's not part of the deal troublesome, I mentioned my life, its your turn now. _

Paul was not going to lie, he was taken for surprise when she questioned him. No one bothered to ask him to unravel his secrets and take them through his past, he had a feeling some examined him, he knew many wondered about him too, but no one _dared_- until now. Whether she was the first or not to ask, he would still have refused to confess his past.

…

Dawn shivered, she wrapped her arms around her bare shoulders, sliding them up and down to warm herself up. She was _freezing, _she slid on soft, pink, knitted socks onto her foot hoping that it would burn the cold air. She checked around the pink-painted room to see if a window was open, she found nothing. _It's technically summer, _she thought, _why is it so cold? _

Dawn opened her phone once more, she checked the time; midnight. _Already? _Dawn thought. She could've sworn it was ten P.M. still. The cold girl scrolled upward and lightly touched the message Paul sent her. Her finger shivered as she felt the screen. She slowly crept into bed, not wanting to wake anyone by accident, and pulled the blankets upwards towards her. The soft sheets started to work their magic by warming her up. _Finally, _she sighed with relief.

She rubbed her fingers together to create a much warmer feeling using the friction between her hands. She brought her hand to her lips, she fingertips touched the edges as she began to plan out what to say. Her fingers moved across the bottom lip as her right hand lightly dabbed the words. She placed her fingers under the sentences as she read through. _Seems good enough, _thought Dawn.

_Dawn: My name is Dawn, I live in Sinnoh. I was born in Twinleaf Town, okay? I was raised by my mom, she had me when she was sixteen I believe. I love pink, and fashion. I like cooking too, and I don't like gym class! I can't say anymore, I'm not stupid. _

The tone seemed exciting and peppy to her, she shrugged and pressed the send button. She felt it was good enough, after all, why would she reveal her life story to him? She wasn't clueless, she was many things but definitely not stupid. She had a sense of direction, she contained common sense. If she revealed more than needed he could eventually find out who she is and where she lives. Dawn's wasn't going to take that risk, it would affect her and her best friends.

_Unknown: Very well, you are more keen than I expected._

That angered her greatly, she wasn't as smart and athletic as Misty nor did she have the naturally admirable personality Drew possessed, Dawn wasn't as calculating as him either. She was her own self, filled with common knowledge and average athleticism. She was interested in fashion and art more than sports and music.

What she could not comprehend was why people insisted she was a bubbly girl with no brain. She was more than that.

_Dawn: I've heard something like that before. Except, they said I had a good heart but no brain. _

Dawn's mother believed in her daughter, but Johanna worried greatly over her. Her mother still thought she was a forgetful girl who wasn't as skilled nor as independent as others her age, much to Dawn's dismay, she would come home before ten every night and lecture her daughter about independence. Dawn continuously insisted that she could manage more than her mother gave her credit for. The reason for her mother's constant worry could be triggered by Dawn being her only daughter, despite Dawn's annoyance with her mother's worry, she greatly admired Johanna.

Her mom made a mistake that cost her not only her reputation, but her future. It wasn't easy, but Johanna over came it; with help from Dawn's grandmother of course.

_Unknown: You can blame the stereotypical "annoying, bubbly girl who's an airhead" stereotype for that. I'm still not impressed however, I demand more than that. _

Dawn gritted her teeth, how dare he ask her for more than that.

_Dawn: What exactly do you want? _

She had better things to do that moment, for example, she could sleep. Only she wasn't that tired… She could also attempt to leave the warmth of her bed for a few short minutes, grab her laptop, return back to her bed, and research the last name _Berlitz _and hopefully find a helpful webpage. It was her secret, the only ones with knowledge of that was Dawn herself. Drew wasn't the only one with a secret or two, she had one herself.

…

_Unknown: Who do you live with currently? _

Paul's fingers ran back and forth the small typing pad, he expected better from her. At first text, she was bubbly and naïve…in his opinion. But the truth of the matter is- she wasn't an idiot.

_Dawn: My mother._

_Unknown: Right now? At this moment?_

_Dawn: I'm not with her at the moment however._

_So her mother works late night, or does Dawn go to a boarding school..perhaps ..military school?_ Paul wondered.

_Unknown: So you are in military school?_

_Dawn: Why do you want to know?_

_Unknown: Just asking, seesh._

_Dawn: Well what if I do? Hmm? What if I'm in collage despite my age? Ever thought of that?_

_Unknown: No, you aren't a genius._

_Dawn: Well, I'm not telling you. That's for sure._

_Unknown: Hmmph, fine. _

_Dawn: But really Paul, what happened?_

_Unknown: Nothing of significant importance for you. Night, I'm getting annoyed._

_Dawn: So am I! .. Bye PAUL. _

She dared, the curious girl dared to ask him personal questions. Unlike others, Paul was not what he considered "the way he is because of family", Paul was Paul. His family did not tell him how to react, his father to be more specific, didn't control his thoughts and slight curiosity. His father did not sit down with him and guide him through school, Paul did that by himself. Mr. Hirohito Nariko only told Paul not to speak unless addressed to, and to study hard. While his father did threaten Paul with disowning, Hirohito was barely there in his life. Even now, he isn't….

_He was more involved than Cho. _Paul has never referred to Cho as mother, she choose his brother over him, why should she be called that? _All she did was give birth to me._

She frowned, years of searching yet nothing important was found. A few face book pages with men who bear no resemblance to her. A myspace link, and many other useless pages that didn't help her at all.

.."Someone was up all night." said Drew. He gently pulled Dawn's hair back behind her ear, she merely rested her head on her arms, noticeable bags on both her eyes.

"I don't want to go back just yet," she muttered.

School for her meant tests, homework, classes, and sleeping early. She wasn't ready for that at the moment.

"What did you do all night?" Drew asked. His fingers ran through his hair, flipping it back as usual. Dawn shrugged, she knew she mustn't tell him what she did.

"Stuff…"

"Laptop?" Drew asked.

Dawn shrugged again, what Drew didn't know was that she closed the door softly- and quietly that not even a fly would hear. She slipped her socks on because of the cold, told Paul some minor information, and continued her search.

If people knew, she had a feeling on how they would react. She wasn't ready to handle all the questions that would be thrown her way. Some might ask if she would be angry…her answer? Yes, some what angry. But what she wanted is answers, not more questions.

"Okay." said Drew, backing off. His fingers twirled his fork lazily, he understood that some things should be kept private. He had his own fair share of private thoughts himself.

Misty knocked on the door, she impatiently tapped her foot on the ground. She held in her hands the majority of supplies the three of them would need for the year. She decided to head out by herself and gather a good amount when she saw Dawn asleep- backwards, with her laptop nearing the edge. Misty smiled to herself, she remembered closing the delicate laptop and plugging it in. She knew her friend's mother would have blown a fit if she needed a new laptop also.

Dawn stood up to answer, Drew's eyes signaled her to lay down and rest, as if he knew she was exhausted.

His green eyes saw an orange ponytail, he opened the door and examined the bags tightly clasped on her sweaty hands. He removed the bags from her wrists, noticing marks made by the handles all over.

"We just need to get notebooks and folders, I got about everything else." said Misty. Dawn and Drew's eyes both lightened in relief.

"Thanks Misty," said Drew.

A tiny smile formed on Dawn's face, "Thank you."

The landline rang, the noise caused Dawn to feel slightly more woken up. Drew answered, his finger ran across the smooth button texture till he located the speaker phone option.

_Hello students of Petalburg Academy. I am your new principal, you may simply refer to me as Miss. Cynthia if you wish. From today till Saturday will be information pick up. Please come and gather up your information, remember, new classroom schedules. _

The three exchanged looks, Dawn was much too exhausted, she was counted out. Misty already did much more than she needed to do. Drew raised his hand, his mouth formed a small smirk. "I'll get them."

…

"N-no it's okay Ash!" said May. He worried over her getting an infection from a simple and common paper cut. He has rubbed it maybe four times thoroughly?

"I can't believe- are you-just-"

"Shut up," Paul muttered dully. He pressed the message once more before he was to delete it. If Ash and May didn't hear the message it wasn't going to be his problem.

_Hello students of Petalburg Academy. I am your new principal, you may simply refer to me as Miss. Cynthia if you wish. From today till Saturday will be information pick up. Please come and gather up your information, remember, new classroom schedules. _

"I'll get it!" May volunteered optimistically.

"No,-"

"Fine." Paul said, interrupting Ash. He did not do that because he cared, he just didn't want to hear him annoyingly say something- again.

…

It was nostalgic at it's highest peak. May and Drew both wandered parallel to each other across the academy's campus grounds. May stopped to admire the flowers surrounding the circular fountain that was made of some long-lasting stone. She breathed in the fresh air, to her, it reminded her of Drew. How she wished she could catch a glimpse of him once- just once more in her life. It's been about five days and no word from him.

Drew, who was closer to May more than ever, stopped to touch the grand white piano in one section of the school. His fingers tapped each key instinctively. He whispered the note names to himself quietly. His fingers aligned with the corresponding keys. They tapped each one lightly, the tapping's speed increased slightly, then returned to the original tempo.

May's ears perked up, she heard..something? A familiar sound, something nostalgic and familiar. It seemed to come from a piano or even an organ. Her mother had played that once in her childhood.

Eventually, Drew got up and continued making his way towards the gymnasium to get the information needed. By the time May got there, he was gone. To her, the identity of the piano player was a mystery. She longed to find out.

…

**Sorry for delay guys~ tests D: **

**I'm quite tired actually, I'll look over this more tomorrow. Spell check is only today~. This is short (for me~) **

**Do you guys like..**

**Short chapters that take a week usually.**

**Or **

**Long chapters that can take two weeks.**

By short, I mean about 3,000 words or more. Lol.

By long, chapters about 6,000+ words.


	7. Bad relationships lead to bitter events

A/N I found the pokeshipping plot that will fit great:D I got Ikari/Contest and even Oldrival done…..but now Pokeshipping has a plot. And it won't be forgotten, It is the main plot here.:D

**Also, I know many people don't like cussings. Just so yall know, I don't plan on putting any unless it is necessary or goes with the character (which is rare). There's one event where I had to in order for something to occur.** They won't be frequent:) Very rarely will they occur, I don't think such words should be a necessity in this.

**Edit: Thank you to "toolazytologin" for catching the error. Ten 50 minute periods o.o. My high school periods are 50 minutes but we always end before 3:30. **(It varies sometimes) Very sorry for error, I have never heard of a school lasting till 3:50 and beginning at 7:30, let's just say their school does xD.

**I edited chapters 1 and 2 to fit better, I felt the way I wrote characters seemed awkward for how they are in the story, I will look at chapter 3 and doo some fixes there. I don't think I'll do 4-7.**~

-x-x-x-

_Dear Dawn Berlitz: according to your exam results and GPA last year these classes you have applied for will be in these levels. These were chosen for your best interest to succeed and be the best you can be. _

_7:30-8:20- Free Period_

_8:20-9:10- Dance class (gym choice) [A-2]_

_9:10-10:00- Biology [C-3]_

_10:00-10:50- Algebra [D-4]_

_10:50-11:40- Lunch_

_11:40-12:30- Art [A-6]_

_12:30-1:20- Design [A-7]_

_1:20-2:10- Italian [B-8]_

_2:10-3:00- Cooking [A-9] _

_3:00-3:50- Creative Writting [C-10]_

_If you are unfamiliar to the class levels, here is a quick review:_

_A-Highest class, achieves highly. Usually scores A's-B's in class_

_B- Above average class, usually scoring A's-C's in class_

_C- Average class, scores B's-C's in class_

_D- Needs a little more effort, C's-D's in class_

_F- Improvement class, usually scoring D's-F's_

_Numbers indicate what period the class is for your student_

Dawn smiled as she scanned through, her grades were drastically better than last year. She knew her mom would call and ask about the yearly schedule and give a few opinions on the classes. She would then proceeded to ask if she had permission to talk to Drew and Misty. She did not need to say it, Dawn knew her mom held back from asking why her friends achieved so high, and why Dawn wasn't as advanced in grades. She watched as Misty and Drew smiled as they opened theirs. Their eyes darted to Dawn, they probably saw her smile assuming she did great. Their assumption was right, only hers were not as great as theirs…

…

_7:30-8:20- Algebra [A-1]_

_8:20-9:10- Chemistry [A-2]_

_9:10-10:00- English [A-3]_

_10:00-10:50- World History [A-4]_

_10:50-11:40- Lunch _

_11:40-12:30- French [A-6]_

_12:30-1:20- Creative Writting [A-7] _

_1:20-2:10- Psychological Science [A-8]_

_2:10-3:00- Gym [A-9]_

_3:00-3:50- Free Period_

Misty grinned, she finally squeezed into the A-class for French. All the hard work paid off, the sleepless nights, party refusals, and hours spent studying came into place. All she had to do was continue her work and then get into a nice university, and later get accepted into a nice medical school.

"Your sisters called," Drew said. His two hands held his schedule and a phone. Misty shook her head, rejecting any sort of contact. Drew pressed the speaker key, Misty turned her back, ignoring her sister Daisy.

"Like oh my god you like ya know like got into all A classes! So proud of you, but like, when will you like you know like….get like..like developed and stuff? I mean, compared to us you are a bit like…on the ugly side. Not that you like have a choice, you all have to wear uniforms now! And like, the girl one is a skirt-"

"We what?" Misty and Dawn said in union.

"Read the thing oh my gawd,"

Misty flipped through, her mind wasn't on the uniforms, she could care less. Her mind, as much as she hated it, kept going back to Daisy's words.

"_Compared to us, you're on the ugly side." _

They wouldn't say such words if they knew her. Dawn was always more of a sister than the three of them combined. And she did not mean that by parentage, she meant by the traditional role of a sister or family member in general.

….

"So, Misty and I share two periods, and we all have lunch together?" said Drew.

"Yes, you two sure are lucky to have another class together, and the last class at that," Dawn said jealously.

"We'll make arrangements, the important part is we have lunch together,"

_7:30-8:20- Geometry [A-1]_

_8:20-9:10- Biology [A-2]_

_9:10-10:00- Music [A-3]_

_10:00-10:50- Physical Science [A-4]_

_10:50-11:40- Lunch _

_11:40-12:30- Japanese [A-6]_

_12:30-1:20- English [B-7] _

_1:20-2:10- Photography [A-8]_

_2:10-3:00- Free Period [A-9]_

_3:00-3:50- Free Period_

"Two free periods? No history or gym…." Misty read.

"It's called taking summer classes," said Drew. "I'm going to finish my math credits first semester. Science should be finished by the end of the year. Next year I'll have very few things to do." Drew said.

"You may have two free periods, however that will continue next year too," Misty informed.

"And the first free period is just lunch again," Dawn said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"However, you still get two free periods and fun classes!" Dawn added jealously.

"You just want to discuss the uniforms, right?" said Misty.

"Yes, the new policy is hurting my imagination," Dawn finally admitted.

And so, the conversation went on about how her creative spirit would be ruined by the new rule. Drew nodded at random times, pretending to listen in. His thoughts ran back to what happened not so long ago. He wanted to know how May was doing.

-x-x-x-

"We'll make it alright, I'll make it alright. It's just the first time I've had a single period with them only. I can do this!" said Dawn. The uniform was cute, she admitted. The outfit consisted of a white blouse with a black tie. The skirt was red and black plaited and reached a little above the knee, the blouse was covered by a black jacket, buttoned right in the middle. Her hair was let down, only a black headband rested on top. She wore black knee high socks and flats.

Dawn approached her locker and opened it proudly. She spent five minutes arranging her belongings, she then opened up the next locker- Misty's and arranged her stuff. The redhead asked- and almost caught- Dawn at eleven o'clock P.M. to do so during free period. Being the selfless girl she was, Dawn said yes. A picture still hung of Gary and Misty together. Dawn ripped it off, crumpling it as much as she could. She tossed the picture towards the garbage bin, missing an inch or so off target. Dawn went into an empty stall, she pulled out her phone, delighted to see a message from Paul.

_Paul: You stay up quite late in night, do you not? I'm glad you finally resting, sweet dreams, Dawn…_

_Dawn: I'm in school right now, if you are too sorry. Hopefully your phone is turned off. _

Dawn thought it looked right but decided against sending it, she turned off her own phone. Depending on time differences (which forever is complicated to her) he could answer back to her while she's in algebra or even…dance. She cringed, if Ursula, Georgia, and Iris heard her phone go on, check the inbox, and scroll through messages, Dawn would probably have to leave Hoenn forever. Ursula disliked her, Georgia followed along, Iris wasn't necessarily "nice" but she left Dawn alone for the most part. She was still friends with Ursula, which was dangerous. Georgia and Iris have been competing for the best friend title since freshman year, Dawn thought it was ridiculous for two people to fight so much over who was the best friend.

She remembered what time it was, dance would begin in about twenty minutes. She crossed her fingers, hoping for a better year.

…

The day has been going great so far for Misty. Her ponytail swished from side to side as she walked into her next class- English. Along with a new principal, they had a new English teacher also. He taught English for both Misty and Drew, rumors have already started that he was strict but more respectful than the overly ridiculed principal. A small feeling of guilt was plunged into Misty's heart, she said things without thinking very often. She felt sorry for Cynthia; an image from the past slid and played through her mind like the window on an Autumn day, she remembered a certain person who resembled the principal greatly- she stopped the image. They were two different people.

She sat mid-section where the board was perfectly seeable for her eyes. She took out her folder and black notebook, her planner on the upper right hand corner, her small pencil pouch on top of it. A gentle hand tapped her shoulder, she motioned with her right hand to hold on while she closed her bag.

She turned around and saw him..again. A few silent moments paused as Misty was staring into the eyes of Ash once more. "You-"

"Good morning class,"

"What business did you have tapping my shoulder? Huh?" Misty said, her ears tuned out what the teacher had said.

"I was just asking for a pen, jeez. Now that I have your attention, can I use one?" Ash rolled his eyes, he had forgotten how much he disliked Misty.

"My answer to that is no," said Misty. She turned her head towards the front.

"I should've known it was you, who else would have flaming, orange hair that strikes out?" Ash said. He almost said ugly, but saying that would have been a lie. Misty's hair stood out in a great way.

"Well-"

"Are you two finished? If not, the principal would be glad to see you right now. Class, this here is an example of a fine book called _Pride and Prejudice. _As you can see, the main male and female protagonists start off disliking each other greatly. Note- hate is far too strong of a word to use. They gradually need to understand each other more if they were to fall in love. You two in the middle," Richard Brown pointed towards Misty and Ash, "need to understand each other more,"

They both nodded their heads pretending to be sincere, Richard proceeded to explain how the class would work and the rules. "No cussing, I do not tolerate such language. I also do not tolerate disrespect towards me and other peers." All the students nodded their heads in agreement.

"Hey Ash, you could use my pen!" chirped a female in the back. All except Misty and another girl offered, Ash took one from a girl with short blue hair. What was her name…Angie? She blushed when he took it from her.

Misty grasped her pen tightly, everything Ash did pissed her off. Whether it was saying okay, raising his hand, writing, and most importantly- just being in the same room as her. She tried to ignore him yet her head still turned to the side to see him. Ash was oblivious to her constant looks. She studied his face, he wasn't exactly ugly but his personality ruined his outer appearance. Misty was never one to go for someone based on looks alone. A lot of girls seemed to admire him, Ash never seemed to returned the feeling. She noticed how polite and calm he acted when a swarm of girls offered pens. She chuckled, what did Ash have that girls liked?

Ash turned his head once more, she wasn't looking his way. She just…sat there, writing down notes for the year. If she was always in the A section then why hadn't he seen her before? _Oh yeah, I was in the B section every year till now for English. I probably did different credit options the other two years. _

"Now, this year we will discuss many popular novels such as _Pride and Prejudice_, I am bewildered by the fact that your previous teacher did not introduce this popular novel to you all. I would also like to introduce-"

Misty sighed, it would be a long day.

"Hey Richard-"

"Please refer to me as Mr. Brown in the classroom, Miss. Bel,"

"Mr. Brown," said Bel giggling. "How tall are you?"

"Six three to be precise, and twenty-three years old," he answered.

If by some miracle, Misty and Ash both happened to turn around at the exact same moment as the other. Most people would smile at a familiar pair of eyes politely then return to what they were originally doing, Ash and Misty were _not _most people.

"What business did you have looking at me?" said Misty, she returned her attention away from Ash once more.

"Excuse me, someone is rude today," Ash mumbled under his breath in a tone that appeared quiet to him.

"You annoy me, anything you do just annoys me, Misty replied back sincerely.

"It's not me it's you. Control your temper Misty," Suddenly, a soft mumble came silently from his mouth. A word so unfamiliar that anyone would need to do a double take to identify who said it.

"Takes a son of a bitch to know one," said Misty sharply. The new teacher was not amused, his head turned towards them just in time to catch Ash ask what she heard, the question also happened to contain a certain word…

Richard pointed towards the both of them, his arm then signaled for them to leave the class. He pressed the office button, a cheery voice was on the other line.

"I have some pupils here who caused havoc in my class with their delinquent-like _expressions,_" said Richard.

The line was silent for a few moments, "Alright, I'll see to them," The principal said.

"I'm sure you two are mature enough to walk by yourselves across the hall, am I not correct?" Richard asked. His arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. Ash noticed heads looking in from the other side of the door.

"We can, Sir," said Misty.

"Good," said Richard, he turned to enter his class once more. He stopped abruptly and looked back towards Ash and Misty. "You two are quite intelligent students, I know you both are better than the action displayed this morning. Good day,"

The whole trip was silent, Ash occasionally turned to look at what was happening in the school halls. The warmly-lit hallway had a welcoming feeling in it. And then there was the dark hallway with green tiles and grey lockers. The only light that shined through had to forcefully escape through the tiny windows.

Ash gulped, he had never gotten in trouble before. He looked at Misty who paid no attention to him at all. She looked quite calm, far too calm. He assumed she was just putting on an act to appear collected and mature. Deep down inside she was probably freaking out.

"I've never gotten in trouble before, I'm as nervous as you," Ash said, breaking the ice around them. He didn't like her, sure, but he couldn't help but admire her dreams of being a doctor. The Misty who rambled about her hopes for the future differed greatly to the one with him. He wondered if perhaps you needed to get to know her to see her.

"I'm not nervous," said Misty. Her eyes looked downward, avoiding his knowing look.

"Say that while looking at me," Ash challenged. Misty raised her eyes up to come face-to-face with him.

"I'm not nerv-nervous," Misty said quietly. Ash chuckled, she was great at her act but wasn't perfect.

"If you say so Misty," Ash sang to her dismay.

…

"Misty…Misty, doesn't that sound familiar?" Cynthia repeated the name in her mind, trying to jog her memory. Two students then came in her office, a redhead and a raven haired boy.

"Oh hi Misty!" said Cynthia, suddenly remembering the redhead from that one day.

"Hi Miss. Cynthia," said Misty. She looked calm, reserved, as if she were called in for positive reasons. Her hand seemed to tremble like an ant limping after being stepped on. She smiled politely, hiding her worries. Ash was nervous also, but not as nervous as the girl he disliked. He grabbed her hand, trying to ease her.

If they weren't in front of the principal, Misty would've yelled at him to let go.

"Please take a seat," said Cynthia. "Would any of you care for some cookies?" The new principal was pleasant and acted as if this was a casual meeting between a principal and two pupils. They both thanked her for offering but said no.

"The new teacher, Richard Brown- he is…a nice man really," said Cynthia, she scanned through documents as she talked. A small grin came across her face, "I must ask; why did you two act like you did?"

Misty answered with no second thought, "We don't get along,"

"Why though?"

"We just don't," said Ash. He wondered what it would be like….to be a friend of Misty's. Drew seemed to manage just fine from what May has said, Dawn also seemed to have an enjoyable time with her. How did they manage living with her?

"I'd have to give out a detention, and as you know, detentions here are more than just sitting in a room quietly," said Cynthia. An idea bolted into her head like a shooting star. "How about you two visit the orphanage for a few hours? Brock and I were planning on handing out toys to the children there."

"When?" asked Ash, if it interfered with his basketball practice he knew it would be tough to skip.

"Saturday, next Saturday,"

"I can go!" Misty volunteered eagerly.

Cynthia looked in Ash's direction. She waited a few moments for his answer.

"I have practice, but I can go," Ash answered.

Cynthia gasped, so he was the student teachers seemed to love so much?

"So it's settled!" said Cynthia excitedly. "They'll be so happy to see you two! You both must report here at seven A.M., alright?"

"Okay," said Misty.

"It's…early but alright, I'll set my alarm," Ash said.

…

The two put on their best smile as they left, once they were away they returned to their usual silent way.

"Why did you grab my hand? I don't need someone to do that!" Misty said, snapping at him. She was sure that the principal was convinced something was going on. The sweet looks she gave them, her doubtful face when they admitted their incompatible relationship with each other.

"You were frightened, don't deny it Mist," Ash said smoothly. Misty chuckled, he probably said something similar to all the girls he met. He was just another Gary in her mind. The only decent men she knew were Brock, Drew, even Cinderella man! If she could trade one person for him it would be Ash.

"And how many times have you said that before?" asked Misty. She remembered Gary who said many things and never meant them, Ash could sweep girls off their feet, such as when many females offered their pens when she didn't give hers.

"Once, to you," said Ash. She confused him, May had much praise to say about Misty. The redhead was smart, acted strong, but something in her held a sad anger. She couldn't have always been like that, what happened? The Misty who's voice cracked when she said that was actually a crack in the mask she wore everyday.

_I'm acting pretty creepy, analyzing her emotions and voice all the time, _Ash thought to himself.

"What is your view on men?" Ash asked.

"Most men I've met say things they don't mean, Drew and Brock are some of the only decent men left in my life. My father was one also, I don't have a failed view on them in general. I shouldn't blame a group for someone's actions," said Misty.

"Yet you are comparing me to someone who probably hurt you?" asked Ash.

"No, I just can…" Misty sighed. "I don't know, I just saw the girls who seemed to swoon over you and assumed…"

"Did a boy break your heart, ever?" asked Ash. The question could be seen as inappropriate, but it suddenly seemed to pop into his mind. She had reasons to be the way she was, Ash wanted to know who caused them.

"That," said Misty. Ash expected to hear her confess something to him like they did in the movies. "Is none of your business," she said coldly. As they walked, her speed seemed to increase. The whole trip was silent as they walked into the class, collected their things, and walked separate ways. Ash did not need any more history credits therefore separating the two of them, to Misty's relief.

…

"Aww, Misty! Couldn't you two have held back for one period?" asked Dawn. She handed the lunch lady her money and walked along side her friend towards their table. She was disappointed by her best friend's actions. Misty was better than the first impression she showed the new teacher. As she dipped her fork into her chicken salad she listened to her friend's part of the story.

"I did, he has three B classes, the rest are all A classes," said Misty. She glanced at her choice compared to Dawn's. By far, Misty's was much more calorie consumed. A slice of pizza was fattening compared to a salad. She took a single bite then pushed it aside along with the Sprite she originally got.

Misty's eyes met Dawn's worried ones. "I'm just not hungry, after what happened earlier today," said Misty. She lied, while she didn't want to get detention her "punishment" was something she would enjoy doing.

"You like working with kids, don't lie Misty!" Dawn took a fork and divided the pizza into separate pieces, she placed one piece into the tips and held the fork horizontally, close to her friend's mouth.

"It's not exactly healthy," said Misty. Dawn placed the fork down on the plate with disappointment. She didn't understand why beautiful, smart, and loyal girls like Misty who were already healthy couldn't see the beautiful reflection in the mirror.

"You don't need to go on a diet. Misty, you are a beautiful girl who runs everyday and eats in normal amounts! Don't...don't go back to that time," the volume of Dawn's voice lowered.

"Alright..." said Misty. She began to eat, Dawn would take a bite then look up to make sure Misty stuck to her word.

If it was anyone else other than Dawn they would have never noticed. This was her best friend, her best female friend to be more correct, saying what she knew was the right thing to say about this.

"Wait, where's Drew?" asked Dawn. Her mind was clouded with thoughts and flashbacks she forgot about their green haired friend.

Misty looked around the cafeteria, she couldn't see green. She did see three girls sitting together, two appeared to be arguing. She chuckled, the one in the middle looked annoyed at the whole fight. Dawn gasped, she saw the three people she wished she didn't see.

"What is it?" said Misty suspiciously.

"What if something bad happened to him!" Dawn lied, her acting skills reached close to perfection. She knew how to manipulate her voice and facial expressions to look sincere. The issue she had with the three of them was something she did not want to burden her friends with.

"I'm sure he's alright," said Misty. She raised her eyebrow suspiciously, she knew it wasn't completely true.

"I come in ten minutes late and you two think I'm not dead, thanks," said Drew sarcastically. He sat next to Misty, across from Dawn. "I love how we are the only ones in this table, the space is nice," Drew added.

"So how was your first day?" Dawn asked.

"Alright, went pretty smooth," Drew said.

"As did mine!" said Dawn. She didn't need to alter anything for that, other than the looks Ursula and Georgia gave her during dance everything else went nicely. Misty then proceeded to tell Drew how _great_ hers went. He chuckled, detention for her didn't seem like much of a punishment.

"Remember to act like you two can last a day with each other, for the children's sake," said Drew.

"Remind me again next Saturday," Misty said as she yawned.

-x-x-x-

I would like to thank Hoenn Master for reviewing pretty much all these chapters and waiting for the next one, even though they take a long time usually. I also heard how you gave StillNear a recommendation, thank you:)

And like I have said before, thank you so much to everyone who reads/reviews this story! You guys are amazing:)

I'll try to update one or two more times before the year ends. I do have the next two chapters outlined in detail.

Till next time,

Dawn

Second Edit: I totally forgot their was a given age and name for the OC Richard- adjusted:)


	8. Musical connections

Hoenn Master- Corrected=) I think twenty-three makes better sense than twenty-one. I hope you had a nice Christmas and even greater New Year also:D Also; I am very thankful for your advice, I really credit you for helping me develop better skills. If you ever publish a fan fiction yourself I will review every chapter like you did for me. I think if you were to write one, you will write it very well.

Thanks to everyone who has been reading my story and/or reviewing! I appreciate it all, favoriting, alerts, reviews, or even taking a glance:D. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a great New Year!

Also, I'm pretty sure I responded to reviews where I can directly respond using a link. If I did not I apologize. If any of you guys want me to read and review your own fanfictions do tell me; I'll happily do so=]

P.S: I realized that I probably should have given Japanese last names to the characters because of origin, etc. Paul I was able to make up with, I'll see what I can do with the others.

x-x-x

After a busy first day back Drew was finally calmed, the next one hundred minutes free. He leaned against his locker, relaxing his muscles before he starts his homework. The schedule was to his advantage, and he planned on using the time as much as possible. Drew finished the geometry homework after twenty minutes, he silently thanked his sister, Soledad, for teaching him while he was still in middle school. He flied through biology soon later. He studied his foreign language book, trying to understand the words again. Dawn made it look so easy, he remembered how well she pronounced the words last year.

She would get straight A's if she took the same language as him, yet she didn't seem interested because she "already knew and understood a little". Misty claimed French culture interested her which influenced her choice in class. Drew picked his because he was half-Japanese and wanted to learn more about his ancestors' origins, Misty was half also. Dawn was full; hence how she understood words. The more she heard from her aunts, uncles, grandparents, and mom the more she learned. Some say she's self-trained, Drew uses a similar word.

She claimed her last name was messed up when her great-grandparents arrived at Sinnoh. In truth, the name Baisotei should really be her last name. He remembered how much times Johanna had mistakenly been called "Mrs. Berlitz" instead of "Miss. Inoue", her maiden name. They always assumed she was married when she never was. Sometimes she would take a deep breath then light-heartedly correct them, other times she'll let it fly by.

For example, when Dawn was dehydrated she didn't bother correcting Brock, when he called her that another time she then told him his mistake. Both Drew and Misty's middle names consisted of their late mothers' maiden name; odd coincidences between the two friends were not rare. Piano, ethnicity, and even similarities in life were some of the few things they shared in common. The biggest difference was how they acted.

As Drew placed the books he needed in his bag and the ones unnecessary at the moment in his locker, he remembered the beautiful piano that rested untouched in the school. He had thirty minutes left, just enough time to play a piece or two. The tight budget was the reason why he they didn't have a piano in their house, he knew Misty would love one though. He's offered her lessons, she turned them down. Misty claimed she had no time for anything extra added to her schedule.

As he walked a few students who recognized Drew greeted him a wonderful afternoon, he answered back in a mannered fashion. As soon as he arrived in the beautifully-lit room Drew dropped his backpack next to him on the matching white bench. He listened to each key, the unique sound of every single one was recorded into his mind. Drew tried to recall songs to play as it was difficult to decide. He finally decided on one that hadn't been played since he was in seventh grade.

His fingers pressed on the silky white keys, the perfectly white piano glistened in the sunlight. He remembered an old piece of paper crumpled, torn, and written with messy ink marks. His attempt at writing an original piece didn't go very well. He was sure Soledad kept it somewhere, she encouraged Drew to keep writing the masterpiece. He eventually gave up when he couldn't add the final verse, the first verse was supposed sounded happy and cheerful, the second was angst-like and dark.

The second verse's beat had similarities to thunder and rain almost; scary as he thought.. The chorus was supposed to go from a steady beat to a troubling fast beat and then end at a calmer voice. The final verse was where he was lost.

He memorized the chorus and first verse, he played it to the best of his ability and stopped once more to remember the second. His fingers trailed more towards the left of the keyboard, he wasn't as frightened as he was years ago. The sound wasn't exactly soothing but it was still interesting and different. He chuckled, years ago a young teen was scared of his own work. A few years later, the teen is now a junior in high school who plays it fearlessly.

…

May heard sharp notes being hit on the piano once more. The sound wasn't exactly far off from where she was. If she recalled correctly, the room had large-panel windows that brought sunlight into the circular area. The piano always sparkled once the sun touched upon it. She knew it was connected to the school, but also had another door leading to a stone path that was meant to bring you towards the garden or other outer areas. She was currently in the hallway waiting patiently by herself. It was as if she was the only one with two free periods in the afternoon. She thanked the advice her grandmother gave her before she started: to take summer classes.

She walked silently, trying not to disturb the pianist while he or she played the song. Plants surrounded the sun-lit room; but what took her attention was not the sun or beautiful décor, it was the student on the piano.

_Drew, _she muttered under her breath. She slowly tip-toed and hid behind one of the plants. She had no idea he played; but boy, was he amazing. She was convinced he was a natural born prodigy. _But couldn't he have taught Misty? _She wondered.

Drew's fingers flew through the verses a few times to perfect it once more, he was still very much rusty. The time then came for the third verse to come into play, he stopped, sighing. May felt it was the right time to return to where she originally was as he stopped abruptly. She was no professional, but something told her he didn't know what to do next. She tripped over a sand-colored carpet and landed on her front. Drew turned around to watch as she tried to check for any bruises and such. He immediately walked over to the brunette, trying to make sure she was alright. He was a bit embarrassed, this was one of the things he kept hidden and available to people he trusted only.

"May?" said Drew, he relaxed, the embarrassment washed off as soon as he recognized the sweet girl he met not so long ago.

"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt you as you played," said May, apologizing.

"It's alright, though if you must wait for the music to be finished then please at least say hello if you recognized me," said Drew, he smirked lightheartedly but also planned his words before hand, careful not to hurt her accidentally.

"S-Sorry," May stuttered shyly. Her cheeks began to turn red, she remembered the events that took place when they met.

"You don't need to stutter or apologize you know. Besides, the important thing is that you're alright and not bruised or anything," said Drew, chuckling lightly at her politeness.

"I didn't want to seem rude," said May.

Drew raised an eyebrow, she was officially the most humble person he knew. He began to laugh, May never acted rude or unselfishly, the altercation with Harley set aside; it was classified as self defense more so then rudeness.

He stopped and saw her eyes look even more apologetic, "You, rude? May, no offence but if you think that then you belittle yourself too much," he honestly said. Drew tried to make it sound as nice as he could. As he expected, her eyes didn't tear up as he told her his opinion. The blue orbs answered his statement without her needing to speak.

A silent pause came about; he was honest yet said things politely. Oddly, May found it refreshing to hear him say the words. She didn't know how to answer back to that however. May decided to change the subject out of her own curiosity and the desire to converse with Drew; she didn't enjoy the silent pause.

"I didn't know you played; and that good! What song was that?" May asked.

Drew smiled a twisted look to stop a look of embarrassment to cross his face. He kept his interests locked away, he never cared for attention. He wanted to be the best he can be- secretly. "It's my own work…" he answered. "Unfinished, I gave up about four years ago,"

May gasped and covered her mouth, exaggeration unneeded. She was very shocked to hear he wrote a masterpiece like that when he was in only seventh grade. But what took her by surprise the most was the fact that he gave up.

"But it's so beautiful," said May. "You are one of the best I've heard in my life," she admitted. She guiltily thought he was even better than her own mother.

Drew turned his head to the side, did she interest in piano also?

"You seem interested in learning," said Drew, chuckling. May could only smile, she knew that was enough for Drew to know she liked the piano. She couldn't play yet she enjoyed listening to it.

"Why though?" asked Drew out of personal curiosity. May's eyes widened, she would be embarrassed to tell Drew how she tried once when she was younger but failed. Despite the quote "An expert in anything was once a beginner" she had a feeling that he got it very quickly. It wasn't as if her mother hadn't tried, oh she has, many times.

"Just reasons," May sang.

"Like a person perhaps?" asked Drew.

May was out of words once more, "I wish I had longer to talk to you but I must go, Ash would be worried sick if I weren't there immediately. Have a good day!" she said, avoiding the question and walked out calmly.

Drew reflected on the words, did he say something wrong? He was sure his wordings were fine, unless it brought back unsettling events and memories.

"Bye May," Drew called out to her. May turned around and saw him smile boyishly at her, she grinned not to seem polite, but because she wanted to and waved at his direction.

"And yes.." May answered as she left.

As both students exited a maroon-haired ex-girlfriend watched jealously as they parted. To Drew's good fortune, she had no idea he played the piano. She just so happened to arrive back at her locker and heard people chatting. She was in the mood to socialize and was prepared to walk in when she recognized a familiar voice. That was when she saw her ex-boyfriend who had two little demons as best friends and May Maple talking together; closely and so openly. She missed most of the conversation but didn't focus at all on dialogue, all she did was observe facial expressions throughout.

Drew was handsome, indeed. His good looks and charm dazzled her, after constant begging he finally agreed to a date. Thus marking the beginning of her first relationship. She thought it would be fairytale like and consumed with romance; the fantasy was crushed when she discovered how casual he acted with her and everyone else. Brianna remained calm, but one day she discovered his two best friends he had constantly talked about in a positive light also lived with him. She knew they were females, while she felt threatened she wasn't completely jealous. But the extra facts upset her greatly; she met nicer boys who gave her what she dreamed about in a relationship and took them over him. She just wasn't ready to let go of Drew just yet, she wanted to make him jealous.

His two friends were suspicious and encouraged Drew to look into the "unfaithful act" more. They spied together and found out the truth. He broke up with her as soon as he found out. Brianna thought it couldn't get any worse, and then, his two demon best friends went over to give her a talk. It sounded more polite until Brianna finally talked and explained her reasons and how they "held him back".

Misty had no room to talk while Dawn lost her temper at Brianna completely.

Present day: he's over her and already getting friendly with May. She didn't like that, Drew was still hers in her mind. He had the looks of the perfect prince after all, he would be her boyfriend again if it was the last thing she did.

Brianna grinned evilly, how she loved revenge and plotting.

"You've stumbled upon my property May, you little slut, I see he's just a rebound after that break-up with Gary," Brianna said in her twisted way, her hands formed into fist as she began laughing as if she were filled with more insanity than usual.

"Just wait Drew, you'll be mine forever. Not even death will tear us apart!"

…

As Leaf walked through the halls from her last class she accidentally stepped on a piece of paper. She picked up the crumbled piece and opened it up carefully. She recognized the redhead girl and the auburn haired boy pictured together. Leaf was impressed how quickly Misty decided to throw that out, she assumed it was hung on her locker. Her hand suffocated the already crumpled paper even more, she placed the picture in her pocket deciding it would be better to throw it out in home.

"Funny," Leaf said to herself, "I also was tricked by Gary too, he didn't need to even try with me. All he needed to do was exist,"

Despite the "rebellious" personality she had going on, years ago, Leaf was convinced she was in love with Gary Oak. He didn't know her at all, but she knew him from Ash Ketchum.

The kid had a crush on her, Leaf didn't return the feelings. He was the same age as her but acted immature while Gary swept her off her feet. She wanted to grow closer, the only way to get to him was to use Ash. She would use her best techniques and moves that manipulated the naïve boy completely.

Gary knew her name and acted polite towards her, she put on a calm mask as they talked- the longest conversation they shared lasted two minutes. Leaf found out the hard way that he wasn't who he seemed. Gary had a habit for breaking girls' hearts, she gave up on him and declared she hated him for luring her unintentionally.

Not even her close friend at the time, Ash, talked to her much once he moved away; the minute Leaf laid her eyes on May she felt replaced. What she had done to her old friend was horrible, yes. She was young and as stupid as most of the girls' Gary has broken. Age thirteen taught her a lot; she matured because of the silly childhood crush. Guilt still flooded her heart, she wasn't a bad person if you got to know her.

_But no one knows me, no one even bother, _she thought. All old friends aside; the closest were Dawn and Misty. She almost forgot about Drew; the three of them plus her were in the same acting groups. They had funny moments but they weren't close to her at all. Leaf secretly envied Dawn throughout elementary school, once they saw each other again she felt ugly once more. Leaf knew Gary worked extra hard to convince Misty, Drew was a smart guy and knew what his friend was getting into. Leaf and him occasionally talked, she dropped small hints on Gary's true nature to help Drew give out more reasons.

When Leaf heard Misty broke up with Gary she applauded Misty for doing so. May and her were probably the only ones who dumped him as opposed to the other way around. She also noticed how those two lasted the longest; Misty being his longest project by a few months however. She wondered if they were..challenging for him. She was sickened by the thoughts of Gary Oak sitting in his desk writing down information to take down women.

Rumors occurred that May slept with Gary, everyone knew Misty didn't and wouldn't. She was against physical contact, it was Gary who took her first kiss after all. She didn't initiate it either, it was also Gary who always had to ask her to dance with him.

_Why the hell do I keep thinking about Gary Oak, he's out of my life forever, _Leaf thought to herself while walking back.

She lived alone but she was alright with that. She sat with some random people and occasionally said a word or two in a conversation during lunch. But that was where the line was drawn; and that was also the difference between her and everyone else: Leaf's mistakes as a kid caused her to be alone.

Ash rose to popularity and was "cliqued" with Paul and May. Leaf hated them out of jealousy, she couldn't truly hate May however. She tried, by the brunette didn't do anything to her. As much as she told herself she hated them she didn't truly hate them. She surely did not want the three of them to go to hell; Gary however….she would be happy to see him fall all the way under like the lowlife womanizer he was.

…

"Sorry Delilah, it's done," said Gary. His finger pressed down on the phone screen; cutting off the girl's screams of sorrow. They were all pathetic; he was excited to arrive in collage for better challenges but witnessed the same easy points from high school. He scrolled through his contact list, he touched the name of the girl he credited as his favorite challenge: Misty. He debated between the two of them, it was close, May or Misty, Misty or May? He finally ranked it as Misty and then May. Everyone else fell below and ranked at third. Twenty girls met and dated in collage; twenty little missions completed.

One can only guess why he did what he did. To Gary, it's natural and a part of his life he can't seem to drop. If every player has reasons then what are Gary's?

…

A/N: I really am unsure about pacing in chapters; does anyone have any advice on how to improve so it doesn't look so rushed?~

Also, I am totally worried on how I write Contestshipping on this; Poke interaction for me is easier but Contest challenges me a little. I'm very worried it's not good enough.

P.S. Very sorry on two clichés imposed,

-Brianna being an obsessive Drew fan who hates May.

-Gary as a womanizer. (Debatable, anime scene with him and the cheerleaders may have implied something…)

I originally planned it as Brianna but then I noticed how over-done it seemed; I can't change that part because it was a big past event so I'll keep her in the role.. Though maybe I can use Brianna as an antagonist and stretch it off more…

Some notes…

-The "messed up name" part is a reference to a story my teacher told me on how her family's last time was changed when they arrived at Ellis Island because they didn't know how to spell it or pronounce it. I'm guessing she said pronounce it though, makes more sense. That teacher was my favorite in middle school, lol.

-The last name Inoue; got it from Bleach:P I personally think the surname sounds beautiful.

-There were barely any Japanese last names that started with B.

-This is my little version of Leaf:P It was fun adding making her character up, I must admit. Since she never appeared in the anime authors have a privilege of giving her a personality they want. I thought "Blue" was an awesome character so I added traits from Blue to Leaf; she's more so like Blue in the past but still has some traits.

(Chapter 9 is the orphanage visit, which is next chapter:D)

See you all next time!:D I go back to school soon and it will take longer to update; projects and such. I also decided to tutor this girl who wants to enter this private high school on the placement test (she's really worried but I'm sure she'll do fine, she's very smart). This month is very busy, sorry if updates take two weeks or more.

Xoxo,

Dawn


	9. A detention to remember

Hoenn Master- Thank you very much once again for the help!:D The advice on commas will definitely help the flow better, I'll try my best. Congrats on finally getting your own profile! I notice you have a story up, I'll check it out as soon as I can. If you ever need anything let me know.

Also; I can beta read for you:D

A/N: I saw something on one Wednesday that really upset me…this author who claims the contestshipping fandom is "crap" goes around flaming some stories…. If that's not bad enough, the person also copies and pastes [contestshipping] stories and publishes them again. Plagiarism:/ The user is very much immature and I have reported the stories for copying others' work; I can't say the username but I will say the person is totally arrogant yet isn't close at all to spelling anything right in author's notes. It upsets me greatly to see that because I'm very sure the people who originally wrote the story work very hard and spend hours on the computer writing. Some probably stay up past midnight also! (Very common) Anyways, rant ended~

…

"You _really_ messed up Mist," Brock whispered as the two conversed in the car. "Don't remind me," Misty yawned tiredly. The first week had gone by quickly much to her surprise, Drew was delighted that the new teacher, Mr. Brown, focused on a bigger variety as opposed to twisted fantasy stories that he deemed girly. Ash and Misty were privileged to sit a few desks apart after the first day incident. Dawn advised Misty to kiss-up more and to constantly raise her hand, she was sure his image of her was probably tarnished and will perhaps always be until she can prove what a great student she truly is.

"What time did you go to bed?" asked Brock, noticing her tired face, baggy eyes, and how she would leave her aquamarine eyes closed for more than a brief second as she rested her head against the seat.

Misty shrugged, compared to her friends eleven thirty was fairly early. For someone accustomed to sleeping earlier like Misty, the time was too late leaving their bodies unadjusted. "Eleven-thirty,"

"And what about Drew and Dawn?" asked Brock as the car slowed down before approaching the red light.

"I don't know, they were still asleep while I was gone," Misty answered to the best of her knowledge, she opened her blue backpack up, grabbing a plastic water bottle that looked as if it were kept in the fridge for two days or more.

"Typical, I expect Dawn to wake up around twelve while Drew might be ten-thirty," Brock guessed.

"What does she even do all night?" Misty wasn't unaware of how late her friend has stayed up before, whenever she brings the topic up Dawn responds by claiming she slept earlier the night before. Misty usually brings up her clever defense; "Your eyes say it differently". Of course, it could be possible that early for Dawn is considered something else in her world.

"If I knew I'd be helping her," Brock responded.

Three years ago, Brock would have never guessed that he would be bringing Misty Waterflower to detention that requires her to go to an orphanage; it was clear as glass to him that the boy she "hates" likes her better than she likes him. He's heard about him, the Ash kid, he's heard how people could easily swoon over him, teachers were no exception to that either! Brock doesn't have any grudge against Ash, but the twenty-four year old knows that in order to survive the school year the two must be on a respectful level with each other at the most, he is convinced separating the two in one class isn't enough.

As Brock parked the car Misty opened her eyes lazily, stepped out, and stretched before walking into the school entrance, she held her backpack across her shoulder by a single strap.

Drew's words from the first day back tattooed themselves into her brain, "Behave yourselves, for the children's sake," Misty promised to keep that, she would not have to struggle trying, she knew the kids had a hard and stressful life already, having someone visit is one of the greatest gifts they can receive. For children who feel as if they have nowhere to go, seeing others taking time to see them makes them feel appreciated and loved.

"I promise," Misty said aloud to herself, swearing to make the best of her time there, even if the day was spent with one person she cannot tolerate.

…

"Hello Ash," said Cynthia sweetly, the principal carried a large paper bag held with her right hand only, her left hand grasped a designed hand bag that looked far more modernized than the other.

"Good morning Miss. Cynthia," Ash yawned, his body was unadjusted to waking up early on a Saturday; the said boy also slept through his alarm o'clock- which successfully woke up Paul much to his dismay.

"And how has your week been?" Cynthia offered a few bananas to the tired boy, Ash, being as polite as he was, declined properly just as his mom had taught him.

_Oh my week, she really wants to know? Nah, the details would make me look like a pessimist which happens to be Misty's role between the two of us. I'm the "optimistic" one so I must look cheerful and well…optimistic of course_, Ash thought.

_To start, M.W. hasn't been messaging me about all week, not to say I need to speak to her everyday, she probably got busy with school but I'd like to inform her on what had happened. Paul is the same, argumentative, May is still her sweet self, Angie is fine I guess….Cillian still fears "ghosts" as usual; nothing out of ordinary, minus the fact that a certain redhead bitch got me detention._

Ash remembered Paul's advice:

_"Don't look or talk to her, don't bother to be close to her or recognize her presence. You tend to unintentionally be the one who starts the fights," Paul said dryly, his attention focused towards the textbooks rather than his "friend"._

_"What if she gets the idea I'm ignoring her?" asked Ash, challenging Paul's rules, or as the raven haired boy says- expanding on them._

_"The children would be the center of her attention, I have a gut feeling she would not think one word about you so don't waste time fretting over nothing," Paul replied, with a great amount of annoyance in his voice._

"Thank goodness she loves kids,"

"Hmm?" Cynthia mumbled, she smiled sweetly as she waited for his response.

As if by some miracle, a knock came from the other side of the door. Ash guessed it came from Misty, to his luck she and another man stepped it. Ash sighed in relief; he disliked untruthfulness and would have hated to lie to a good hearted person such as Cynthia.

…

"So this is the place,"

"Welcome! The kids adore visitors and will certainly love your company!"

"It's our pleasure to meet them," said Misty.

"Please follow us to the toy room, the children usually have a play time about now," replied a worker.

Brock and Cynthia walked extremely close; the pair had gotten along easily the past three weeks. Misty could've sworn she saw Brock blush a little at her compliments towards his work.

"I'm not here to argue with you, don't you dare mess this up," said Misty quietly, her voice seemed threatening despite it being meant as a statement.

Ash stopped himself from replying, he chanted Paul's words a couple of times in his head, trying his best to not get angered.

Misty bit her bottom lip, she felt ignored; thinking back on her promise she held her thoughts in her head, making sure not a single syllable escapes.

The people to the front of them suddenly stopped walking vertically; instead, they took a right turn and came across a large room with many toys, children, and smiles. A few posters hung on the orange-painted walls; the sunlight was minimal but existed.

Ash, Cynthia, and Brock began to hand out presents; Misty's attention was turned towards a child who sat in the back; quiet and lonesome.

"Wanna get a toy like the other children?" asked Misty. The boy looked up; his eyes were filled with a kind of sadness that made him distant almost.

"Are they..looking to adopt?" he asked.

"No, sorry," said Misty. She ruffled her fingers through the boy's hair, grabbing his hand gently, and guided him towards the toy hand out.

"Come on," said Misty delicately.

"That's Mikey, his brothers and he have been here for most of their lives," a worker informed.

"Five of my six years," said Mikey sadly.

"Is the adoption rate high?" asked Cynthia.

"Not as high as it used to be," Brock answered. "This place was pretty popular ten years ago, most orphans just go to foster families now."

"That's good," said Ash.

_No it's not good, social workers I've met are very self-centered and ruthless, the families could be abusive, a bond formed is useless! Once the few months are up the kid has to go to another family and start from scratch once more, _Misty thought.

For the children, she held her opinion in; but Ash caught on to her disagreeing thought with one glance.

"Half of the time," Ash added, "Half of the time,"

"Indeed," Cynthia said as she handed a little girl a doll.

The small child tapped Brock in the shoulder, "Doesn't she look like a pretty doll, mister?"

Unsure how to respond, Brock nodded, his face was undeniably flustered.

..

"How did I wake up at ten A.M. on a Saturday?" Drew groaned, for someone who usually slept till about twelve, ten A.M. was arguably early. None the less, he began by eating breakfast before finishing up homework to ensure a free Sunday.

As Drew began to place the books back inside his backpack a red-leathered notebook fell out, landing on his foot. Drew carefully opened the notebook; his fingers touched the creamy pages, turning them while looking for any indication to whom it could belong to.

Rough sketches filled the pages; some appeared to be made by a young kid who gradually developed more skill in drawing. The most recent happened to be a beautiful white piano that glowed with the shading, making it appear even more magnificent than it already was.

"The piano in our school," said Drew, identifying it quickly. His eyes observed every detail, praising the beauty of each mark. A small, neatly-written signature inked the bottom right hand corner.

"This is May's," said Drew, he walked to see if his friend was awake yet, Drew's head peaked out of the door to see a girl still sound asleep. Drew picked up a small green post-it-note, writing down the location to where he was going; he placed it on the inside of her door. He slipped on his black sneakers, tying each knot quickly that the laces hung loosely across the top of his shoe. After making sure he had May's notebook, Drew left, trying to recall what her address was exactly.

…

"It's called grape juice," said Misty, explaining to the young boy what the delicious tasting flavor was.

Mikey finished, and then requested more much everyone's delight.

"You really have a way with him, he's the shy type but my, his social skills have made such excellent progress!" a worker cheered.

Ash couldn't help but grin, the girl he claimed to hate was the girl everyone loved; she wasn't exactly as bad as he thought. _A wrong start, we went off on the wrong foot. She was just defending her friend and her opinion of me can't change because I looked like a jerk._

"Do you want to play basketball outside?" asked Mikey, interrupting Ash's train of thought.

Ash raised an eyebrow, wondering how the young boy knew.

"Cynthia told me you played," Mikey responded.

"But you just drank," Misty said with a matter-of-fact tone evident. Mikey obeyed, asking Ash if he could in an hour or two.

"I _could_ use the practice," Ash responded.

Brock leaned forward, whispering something into Ash's ear.

"You and Misty_ haven't _fought the whole time, good job!"

"We haven't talked to each other, that's probably how we could restrain ourselves," Ash answered, slightly disappointed that the only way they could get along was through silence.

"Fighting _is_ usual in their household yet the three of them are all friends," Brock chuckled.

"It's not in ours, me and Paul occasionally but the fights are considered serious," Ash said.

"Emerald Street, right?"

"Cilian is ours, and you just have Misty, Drew, and Dawn?" Ash asked, finding himself bonding with the older man.

"Right on kid," Brock said. As they conversed his eyes seemed to focus on something else - or rather; someone else.

"You and the principal seem rather friendly."

Brock chuckled, slightly embarrassed, "I can see why she got to where she is, which is exactly why, not saying I am, but if I were interested in her it wouldn't work out."

Ash raised an eyebrow, questioning the alumni's prediction on how a romantic relationship between the two would work out.

"She's beautiful, that's for sure, but who would want a guy like me? She could probably find a nice, handsome, and rich guy out there," Brock said, attempting to show how he was trying to be realistic about the whole idea. "Our relationship is supposed to be strictly professional."

…

"You honestly must disturb me for that reason?" Paul complained.

"I'm not here for you," Drew started to feel the rush of discomfiture from the unwonted student.

"Could you not have called to give me enough preparation time? This showcases your callowness,"

Drew rolled his eyes, Paul was inexorable.

"Listen-"

"No, you listen; I'll even use the smallest words possible for your tiny vegetable head to absorb. Your plaints amuse me, therefore I'll let the notebook in," Paul smiled peremptorily; his fingers tapped the arm opposite his right in amusement.

"That was my point in the beginning of this, I just wanted you to give it back to her," Drew said, frustrated.

"Name please? She has been having some sort of problems lately, missing school work and textbooks, if you are truly legitimate on your reasons then she'll know once I say your name," said Paul

Drew flipped his green bangs from his face, "Drew Hayden,"

Drew handed Paul the notebook before running off, he was perambulating back of course and did not want to in Paul's presence any longer, he feared he might lose his cool.

As Paul returned inside, he grabbed a triple ringed blinder, black in color. A clear divider with the letter _H_ written in black sharpie caught his eye after a few moments of searching, Paul pulled out a piece of paper and wrote everything and anything he knew about the student before closing the blinder and instead of returning it to its latent place, he decided to keep it safe in his own room.

…

"You're so good! But you're so short Ash!" Mikey said, in awe of Ash's skills.

"As surprising as it might seem, being the tallest doesn't mean you're the best," Misty said.

"I'm not _that _short, I'm five-six now," Ash commented proudly.

While Brock and Cynthia entertained the other children, Misty decided that in order to get Mikey to speak more it would be better if she were with him. Ash, deciding that maybe he can contribute, offered also. And so, the three plus Mikey's brothers Rainer, Sparky, and Pyro all sat in a small circle exchanging stories and jokes.

"You're the shortest in your team obviously. When I was in eighth grade I was probably five-three and a half but the tallest girl in my grade, I'm five-four now and might possibly grow one more inch," said Misty.

"I'm not the shortest- okay I am,"

"Called it," said Misty, smiling in amusement.

"Oh I get it now, Ash."

The raven haired boy looked to see Mikey smiling quite happily, trying to stop the laugh that is edging to escape. The young boy gripped the rug as his grin shined through the room, enlightening it warmly.

"Misty's your girlfriend! I was wondering why a girl and boy would volunteer together unless in a group but now I see!"

"They could be friends," Misty said, while not flustered she gagged at the idea.

"Yeah," Ash could only say. Unlike Misty he felt his cheeks burn up a little, he noticed how emotionless she was about it, brushing off without taking time to think like he was.

"Oh so you're both_ friends_? Nothing _more?_ Are you _sure_?"

"Very," said Misty immediately.

"It doesn't look too good guys," Rainer, who apparently left during the conversation, arrived at the circle looking discouraged.

"We might just enter the system; the orphanage business ain't as good as it used to be,"

Misty's eyes widened, her brave glow was lost as she spoke. Her voice was truthful but bitter.

"No, too many risks involved in that. You could all be stuck with someone horrible and sometimes pleading and reporting abuse won't help. Not to mention you have a month to get attached to someone then leave and start all over once more."

"We don't want to, but the foster parents can adopt-"

"But what if they have too many kids already to handle? What if they put on a façade, faking kindness and once they have you all permanently in their grasps they'll reveal their true intentions?"

"Can't always look at the negative," Ash responded.

"You can't count out the possibilities either,"

Mikey heard none of the short conversation to their luck, the child didn't need any more pressure or worries in his life.

Misty knew better than them how the foster care system could go wrong, how it has, how many instances go unreported. She knew better than them how isolated and uncomfortable a person can feel, loneliness and tears are common. While some instances are happy, a lot can also end in sorrow.

The two didn't speak, the atmosphere felt different once Misty boldly admitted her opinion. Ash knew better, he gave her the space she probably needed to think things through. Mikey had fallen asleep while his older brothers left for bed, soon it was time for them to leave as well.

"Come back soon!" the workers invited.

"Oh we will!" said Misty. She felt a gentle tap on her shoulder, turning around she saw Ash behind her, his eyes had a certain glow in the light, his face looked the gentlest of all the times they've seen each other.

"Are you feeling alright?" Ash asked, genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine," Misty knew she could say something, anything she desired back but knew he was worried and she would just be rude.

"Tired, hmm? You were great with Mikey," Ash complimented.

"Playing basketball with him really cheered him up, you were great as well,"

Cynthia and Brock look at the pair, both knew things would be back to regular soon but cherished the moment between them.

Ash scratched his head, "If it wasn't for you he probably wouldn't have,"

"Yeah you're right," Misty chuckled.

Before the two entered, Misty turned to say one more thing.

"Thanks for not giving me the room and not jumping on me to find out why I had my reasons," Misty yawned, she glanced at the time, it was only eight-thirty but it felt like midnight.

"Welcome," said Ash.

…

Well, I need to stretch out my writing muscles, been a while hasn't it?


	10. Monday's misfortunates and funny luck

**A/N I suck at finding time. Life never seems to give me a break. ._. Really no excuses for me though, these last two updates were definitely not quick. But I'm guessing about doing something else: I always have a portion of the next chapter done by the end of the week; I could post it on my profile, like a "preview". I'm sorry though, I feel bad too because when I'm waiting for a story I like of mine to be updated and it isn't, I know how it feels. *Hugs all of you***

**Thank you Hoenn Master96 for editing this! A great job indeed.**

* * *

><p>…<p>

The fading colors, not in, but taken alongside the wind swept through the horizon. Clouds of grey accumulated the once blue skies, the warm feeling in the air ceased to exist. One by one, flowers wilt and perish as the weeds cease to control the garden.

"Mom? Soledad? Harley?" a young boy asked quietly.

Oh, the innocence of the young boy, unaware of the changing seasons. While they're long gone, he's unaffected, the green of his hair still very much striking, his emerald eyes still portrayed with the same, usual gleam.

_"Do you hear it…"_ a voice called out.

"Hear what?" the boy said, questioning the voice. "And just who are you?"

_"Listen you too-proud boy, listen, or you'll never hear,"_ the voice chastised.

Drew raised an eyebrow questionably. "Just come out!"

_"Impatience leads to nowhere. Quiet down if you heed the path,"_

"What path?" questioned the green-haired boy. "Listen, I don't have time for your stupid little psychic prediction or whatever you call it,"

Thunder touched across the horizon, accompanying rain as it fell merciless. The once breezy wind's speed increased immensely, carrying all sorts of trinkets as it flew across the sky. Drew's eyes grew in horror at the sight, silenced immediately, waiting for the voice to explain.

The faint sound grew louder by the minute, but what was it saying? The words were still unclear to Drew's ears despite the volume.

"It's the sound of a piano," said Drew in a soft whisper.

_"Follow it,"_ the voice ordered.

While his sense of direction wasn't keen, his ear had all the resources needed; but as Drew felt closer, he felt farther.

_"You're here,"_

"A box," Drew spat bitterly. "You made me walk through a tornado for a box. Thank you _so_ much for trying to kill me,"

_"Arrogant boy! Fool, open the damn thing!"_

"Someone's demanding," grumbled Drew as he picked up the wooden box.

Inside contained... another box? Blood red in color, heart-shaped, and vintage looking. A gold pendant was placed in the middle, a music note design engraved.

Drew attempted to lift open the cover, but alas, wasn't any bit successful.

"It's locked," Drew complained.

_"Exactly the point,"_ said the voice.

"What point?" said Drew.

_"You'll see…"_ the voice said lastly, becoming more and more faint before disappearing abruptly into the chills of the wind and darkness of the sky.

"Wait!" Drew yelled, but it was too late.

* * *

><p>…<p>

"Wait... agh… tornado… ahh," said Drew as he messily rolled from side to side beneath the blankets of his bed.

Close by, a very awake Dawn overheard her friend's pleas. She slipped on a pair of bunny slippers and crept soundlessly through the halls.

"Tornado?" Dawn repeated to herself. She noticed his green eyes were closed, his voice strained and tired. "I never knew he sleep-talked," said Dawn with a light chuckle.

"Open up," Drew demanded in his sleep, he grabbed the closest thing to him -a green plaited pillow- and began tugging on the edges.

Dawn's eyes broadened, deciding his dream was escaping his head and entering his physical being actions. The result of his dream, by the looks of it, is not a sweet dream, so his actions could become even more physical, self-harming, and violent she thought, I sound really smart right now.

"Drew, wake up," said Dawn, loud enough to rouse him, but considerate enough for Misty. She tugged on his arm.

"There you are!" said Drew.

"Yes, here I am," Dawn said after she curtsied.

"You tried to kill me for a box, and then you suddenly disappear without telling me what you meant," said Drew.

"Oh he's not awake yet…" said Dawn. She decided to sit comfortably on the circular blue knitted carpet placed close to the bedside.

"Well tell me what to do now!" said Drew.

"Wake up so I can tell you what's going on?" Dawn suggested, while she tried her hardest not to she couldn't help but crack a small smile at her friend's quite… realistic, dreams.

"You are no help at all," answered Drew. He rolled across the bed to the right side. But then, out of nowhere, he yelled out a loud yelp, his body acted as if it were electrocuted.

"Drew! Wake up!" Dawn yelled, a little frightened at how physical the dream became. She silently apologized to Misty if she were to be disturbed from her yell.

"AH!" Drew screamed as he fell off the bed. Luckily, his red comforter fell before, breaking his fall and providing him with a soft landing.

"Are you alright?" said Dawn, as she crawled over.

Drew scratched his head, as he looked over towards his nightstand. A bottle of root beer, half-empty, half-drank, was on top, right next to a blue covered book with three pens laid above.

"Never again," said Drew as he lifted himself up, "Will I drink root beer before bed."

"You know you sleep move and talk, right?" said Dawn as she started fixing Drew's messed up bed.

Drew gave her the, "you-don't-have-to" look as she persistently helped out.

"Sorry, I didn't like the way you layered everything, before this and after," Dawn commented.

Drew sighed, lifting his palm to his head. "So there was this... Country like place," he sat on the tidied bed and began to explain his dream.

"Weird location," said Dawn, she sat with him as he elaborated.

"And then suddenly, everything turned grey. The whole place was disastrous," Drew stopped for a moment, trying to recall as much as he could.

Dawn listened more attentively, interested to hear what happened.

"Tornados, lightning, you name it." Drew shivered, remembering an event that happened before he was awakened.

"There was a voice of an old woman, she had that wise old hag slash sage voice," Drew added, taking a little more time to remember.

"And what advice was she giving you?" said Dawn.

Drew, a little surprised she knew what he was talking about, was about to ask how when she interrupted: "I watch a lot of movies and shows with that type of character in it, duh," Dawn explained.

"She told me to follow the sound of the piano, and when I did, she led me to a box,"

"And there was a key inside?" said Dawn cheerfully, remembering a movie where that happened.

Drew shook his head, "Incorrect there Dawn, inside was another box,"

Dawn's eyes widened in remembrance, "Did it have a keyhole but no key?"

"Yes there was… and was that a movie theme?" he said, surprised.

"No, I took a psychology class last year," said Dawn.

"So you can explain my dream?" said Drew.

"I sure can! So you've heard the phrase-" Dawn stopped abruptly before continuing. "A dream is a wish your heart makes," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Didn't everyone," said Drew, rolling his eyes. "I watched Disney as a kid too, you know."

"So did I, my favorite was Ariel. Anyways, your heart is telling you that you need to unlock a heart, not yours, someone else's I think?" Dawn tapped her chin, her eyes looking upward as she began to think.

"Well who's then? Wasn't this the only non-elective class you could get an 'A' in?" said Drew.

"In my defense it was the only interesting non-elective class," said Dawn. "Also, I don't know who's, sorry. Guess it's something you need to find out yourself. So like that song goes, listen to your heart, when it's calling for you, listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do," Dawn sang.

"Are you going to keep singing songs all night?" said Drew while swiping his hair to the side.

"Hey, it was fitting," Dawn said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You know Dawn, in times like this I wish I had a dad who could explain these things to me, or a more reliable brother," admitted Drew with more than a few specks of sadness.

Dawn smiled sadly, "I wish I had a dad too."

**Chapter 10**

Monday was never Misty's favorite day of the week; in fact, this day was her least favorite. The day to her was cursed, anything and everything bad happened on Monday. Children dreaded going to school, often feeling lazy and not quite in their proper state-of-mind, forgetful almost, shunning all homework assignments till Sunday night- and for some, Monday morning.

Nope, Misty Waterflower was a good student who did her homework immediately before anything else. Yet here she sat, cross-legged, book open, pretending to take notes on a book along with the rest of the class.

_I need one more paragraph, but what else can there be?_ She thought diligently, silently praying no one would notice her.

"Miss Waterflower," Her teacher's voice was sudden, interrupting her thoughts and frightening her. She looked up, using the bottom of her irises she tried to scan where they were in the chapter. She hoped he wouldn't walk over, sneak a glance at her notebook, confiscate it and send her to the principal's for a second detention; one that Misty expected wouldn't be fun.

"In To Kill a Mockingbird, describe the symbolisms hidden between the chapters; can some possibly... foreshadow later events?" He eyed her through his simple, clear-lensed glasses, tapping his foot patiently.

"Yes," said Misty, almost everyone giggled. She knew their laughter wasn't friendly, but teasing.

"Ms. Waterflower, do you sincerely believe that I will be accepting of a one-word answer?" Mr. Brown shook his head in disappointment.

"Well…" Misty's eyes scanned the pages, attempting to read as much as possible without anyone noticing. All eyes seemed to grow closer and more intimidating, they were watching, waiting for what she had to say.

Their appearance seemed to blur, Misty rubbed her Cerulean eyes, thinking it'll clear up; but she was wrong. She tried to look off, ignoring the intimidating glares she was receiving, the kind that lets her know how low they think of her. They weren't waiting for what she was planning to say, they all were waiting for her to mess up. All their eyes began to change colors, their hair grew longer and more lustrous, some grew taller, others grew shorter, all grew slender, possessing curved bodies some would kill for. Soon enough, the whole room was full of bright, long, colored hair; the uniform was nonexistent, being replaced by more fashionable, and usually short, clothing.

"Come on dork, say something," a voice rang out impulsively, tired of the silence.

Misty realized that once again, she's the chicken with the swans, the weed in a garden of flowers, the overshadowed color block, she was once again a tiny ant surrounded by all other animals. They were meant to be noticed, adored, loved, but she, being an ant, was stepped on and forgotten about. No one would dare to organize a "Save the Ants!" committee.

* * *

><p><em>Four little girls tried on silken dresses, patterned and hand-made. The first little girl was the eldest, blonde and beautiful, her eyes wandered across the room.<em>

_The second followed, looking almost like the first but with Indigo-colored hair instead, she appeared at ease and less curious than the first._

_The third had a vibrant pink hair that seemed to have a natural supply of volume inside. She grinned ever-so sweetly as she admired her own looks._

_Now the fourth was different, she sadly gazed out the window, preferring to play rather than dress. While the others kept their hair down and styled, the fourth preferred hers to be pony-tailed and simple._

_"Wanna' hear a joke?" said the third one, grinning at everyone but the fourth._

_"Sure!" said the first, kicking her feet as she sat on the chair._

_"So once there were three beautiful sisters, their mommy and daddy decided to adopt another little girl," The fourth girl pretended to have her attention towards something else, secretly listening to what the third had to say._

_"Well the three sisters, being the kind girls they are, went over to their new sister and asked if she wanted to play with them." The fourth sister grew more tempered by the second, she curiously listened on, having a slight predication of what the third will say next._

_"So it turns out, the little girl is not only ugly outside but inside! She started attacking the other three," The second giggled along with the third, the first chuckled for a brief moment, awkward and nearly silent._

_"And so, for punishment, every fourth sister is cursed with being ugly, mean, and violent!" said the third between giggles._

_"Looks like that story is true!" the second added._

_"No guy would like her either," said the third._

_The fourth's anger turned into droplets of water spilling from her eyes, without making a sound she slipped out, she took off the blue dress and locked her door, silently sobbing._

_The fourth vowed to never cry because of her sisters' anymore._

_She kept well on her promise, carrying herself stronger than when she was younger. She was easily angered depending on who and what happened, she studied long hours, whether required or not. She never cried because of her sisters' once again._

Misty crackled under the pressure, her eyes played unkind jokes that blended past, present, and personal dreams. All across the room were Lilys', Daisys', and Violets', staring at her, giggling.

* * *

><p>"Ms. Waterflower? You seem troubled," Mr. Richard Brown observed. He opened his blinder, carefully removing an extra homework assignment. Whispers were scattered across the room, the topics contained teasing's for Misty, along with sports, rumors, etc.<p>

"That bitch sure deserves it for picking a fight with you Ash," said Angie quietly.

"That's enough!" Richard's baritone thundered, echoing off of the walls strangely. "Do you not all have moments you would simply prefer to crawl under a rock and be left alone! If I hear even a _single_ syllable from anyone, you will be joining Ms. Angie Garcia in detention tomorrow; and I promise you, it won't be as easy to accomplish as Miss Waterflower's punishment!" Angie's jaws dropped at their normally stoic teacher's outburst as the whole class fell into silence. "Miss Garcia, I am not deaf," Mr. Brown pointed out in all seriousness. He unclasped another sheet and continued, "I'm going to copy this quickly- remember, I am _always_ watching."

...

To Misty, reality was bent. She couldn't quite identify what words were said, or what her "sisters" were doing. The images blurred, more and more each time she opened her eyes after a few blinks.

"I'm done," said Misty as she gathered her belongings and packed them into her bag. As she departed, high-pitched, giggly voices laughed in amusement.

* * *

><p>"Am I mental or was I just hallucinating?" said Misty, trying to catch her breath after running across the halls, passing lockers and unaware classes. She knelt down across the cold, brown-tiled floor. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to ease her mind.<p>

She knew she struggled on a question because she wasn't paying any attention, she saw the expressions from her peers which suddenly transformed into her sisters? The memories came back, and she began distancing herself more and more from reality; and then she came back, needing time away from everyone.

"Is it normal to have animated, almost real memories?" said Misty. She eyed every part of the hall: she was alone, slightly confused, and definitely in trouble for the commotion she stirred. She tilted her head up, hearing squeaky footsteps come her way.

"I'm not sure," the voice answered back.

"Drew?" she asked, while impossible she could only hope it was a friend of hers. "It's Ash," said Ash, as he appeared in visible-distance.

"Oh well," said Misty with a sigh.

Ash knelt down beside her: She looked annoyed but didn't bother fighting back.

"Are you alright?" asked Ash.

Misty laughed bitterly, glimpsing into his eyes she said, "Do you really think I'm alright?"

"To be completely honest you look like a curious, lost puppy in a big city," said Ash.

Misty folded her arms, "And you remind me of a hyperactive monkey overdosed on sugar."

Ash sighed, shaking his head with irritation, "I was being honest."

"As was I," said Misty collectively.

"We'll argue about this later," said Ash, knowing from past experiences how this would unfold.

"To answer your question, I'm not," she spoke uncomfortably as she started to explain some of it to Ash, of all people. Ash!

"Could be lack of sleep, or a sleeping disorder, but I'm guessing a lack of sleep," said Ash. As she spoke his ears paid proper attention, every word was thought of; every detail was embellished and brought to life in his mind.

"Probably, but these don't happen that often," said Misty. Deep inside, she had a hunch it was more than just lack of sleep.

"Have you had similar… um… periods then?" asked Ash, reciting the second-to- last word a bit awkwardly.

"Not this lucid and compelling, I'd literally get flashbacks that hit my emotions, but I've never sister-bended people before,"

"If this happens again, I'd say you've got a problem, and if it does…" Ash handed Misty her homework, in-between he provided her some help and ideas resulting in the completion of it.

"Promise me that I'd be the first one you'd tell, or at the least, one of the first," Misty nodded, realizing he was the only one who knew, and might just be the only one who ever knows.

As they both got up, Ash smiled deliriously before slipping a ripped piece of notebook paper into Misty's bag.

"What's this? Your number?" asked Misty.

"No, I don't have a phone, technically speaking," he muttered the last two words quickly and in a hushed voice.

"Then what is it?"

Ash grinned largely as he swayed his head from side to side, crossing his arms he said, "guess."

"Notes?" Misty's eyes lit up with false realization, "is this a joke?"

"No, it's your homework. The one you didn't do," Ash began laughing, softly and knowingly.

"I brought the notebook dumbass," said Misty with annoyance. Yet, she reached into her bag and opened the unkemptly ripped paper before giving Ash a semi-apologetic and semi-disbelieved look.

"You're welcome," said Ash coolly, and, as he exited, he cocked his head backwards at Misty and explained.

"You draw a lot of hearts in your notebook, just so you know," Ash turned forward and laughed, minding Misty, but to his dismay, missing the priceless look on her face as she grumbled away.

"Wait, he had my notebook…but he only gave me a piece of paper with a single paragraph formed more like a conclusion at the end than monotonous like mine! Plus the handwriting is swayed right, left, up, down,… in all directions,"

_He completed it for you. Feel even more guilty for calling him a dumbass Misty._A small voice in her head responded.

"I know, I know. Stop reminding me." Misty chuckled, "I just talked back to myself."

As Misty walked off she stopped with realization that she didn't have her notebook, which contained the other half and…doodles from last year. She kicked something over by accident, right next to her feet laid her notebook. She picked it up, scrolling through and quietly gazing at everything she drew when she was still with Gary.

Hearts and trees with hearts filled the pages, accompanied with G + M.

"Wasn't I lovesick?" said Misty as she found the necessary page. She laid across the floor as she guiltily picked up a pen before stopping, knowing it was wrong.

_But Ash worked hard on that for you, he'd be mad if you just threw his work out like garbage._ The voice resurfaced.

"Aren't you my conscience?" asked Misty.

_Yeah, so listen to me and copy, copy, copy._

* * *

><p>"Hey Ash!" Angie exclaimed as she rushed over and threw her arms around him, burying her head in his chest.<p>

"Oh, hi," mumbled Ash, taking a seat next to her on their lunch table.

Angie played pleasantly with Ash's hair as she twirled her fingers deep into his scalp like a curling iron.

"So…" Angie rested her head on his shoulder, "I was thinking… about us."

"We're good friends?" Ash answered hopefully.

Angie chuckled and poked his cheek, "No silly, I think… we should be… more than this,"

"More than friends?" Ash asked, he grew more uncomfortable as the conversation dwelled on.

"Well, why not?" asked Angie, she stroked his face lovingly and continued on. "We've always been there for each other and admit it, I'm the closest girl to you. May's more like your sister... family. Me? We're…"

"We're?" Ash crossed his fingers.

"Like a couple, how we act and how we always sit with each other in the lunch room. We'd also be the biggest it couple, one of the most popular boys at Petalburg Academy; and me, the most popular girl in town!" Angie's eyes lit up, ignited by sudden hopes and dreams with a chance to come alive. She wore her heart on her sleeve as she spoke, their friendship could be at stake because of her confession… but she was not one who waited around, as she was as blunt as ever.

Ash, a bit shaken at her sudden love confession stayed silent as she rambled. He did, however, roll his eyes as she talked about how they always were there for each other when she didn't even know half his problems. As he thought about the relationship more... he wondered if Angie saw his true self, or did she see what everyone else did?

"… A power couple! Everyone would admire us even more than they do now and-"

"Angie," said Ash calmly. He gave her hands, which previously held his, a light pat. "You're a very good friend and a special kind of girl, but I don't think we're right for each other,"

Angie's eyes began tearing before he completed the first four words, _silly girl_, she thought to herself. _I should have known._

"But why not?" Angie's sadness turned into heated emotions as she wailed loudly, causing heads to turn in the lunch room. She buried her head in her hands

"Is it because I'm not pretty? That's it, isn't it Ash!" Ash saw droplets of tears streaming down, escaping her tightly locked finger tips. "Oh, I get it; you like someone else, don't you! Someone with bigger assets than I do! Admit it!"

"Angie, calm down," Ash said in his usual laid-back manner.

"There's something wrong- isn't there always? I'll never get married, or find a decent boyfriend, why do I always fall for the jerks. I thought you were different Ash- but I was dead wrong!" Her cries grew louder by the second, causing some students to exit as fast as they could.

"Okay! Fine, I'll go on a date with you!" Ash yelled, wanting to end her fit as quickly as possible.

Angie sniffled as she raised her head, "You will?"

Ash gave her his signature smile, "Yeah,"

Angie wiped her damp face with her hands before she lifted her chin and kissed Ash's lip. As she caught sight of her friends she leaped out with excitement and ran to inform them of the good news.

Ash touched his lip, "So that's how kisses feel,"

_Like nothing._

* * *

><p>"I am so sorry!" Dawn repeated as she tried wiping the egg yolk off of Leaf's hair.<p>

Leaf chuckled and shook her head forgivingly.

"People say egg yolk is good for hair,"

"They also say dipping your face in ground mud rids you of acne," said Dawn, an image of someone naively believing that caused her to giggle.

"People will believe just about anything," Leaf flipped her hair to her backside and continued battering the eggs.

"I'm really sorry though-"

Leaf groaned lamely and said, for about the sixteenth time, "It's _okay_."

"I know, but I still feel bad," Dawn tossed a cake mix box into the recycling bin.

"I'm going to have to forgive you, either way," Leaf winked.

"How so?" asked Dawn, puzzled. She rubbed her hands together, flaking off access powder.

"You're my partner for the whole semester, how else can I get an 'A' if I ignore you?" Leaf chuckled. "There's no damn way I'm passing this class without you,"

"So you're forgiving me because I'm good at cooking?" Dawn replied.

"Yes, and because you're my friend," Leaf nearly dropped the carton of eggs, slipping on a runaway tomato.

Dawn looked over with a bored look in her eye, "Is the tomato okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Oh he's just swell, considering he nearly tripped me," Leaf added bitterly, she stood back on her feet and gruesomely wiped her tomato stained shoes.

"Well," Dawn said defensively, "if you watched where you were going you wouldn't have fallen; it's not nice to pick on vegetables, Leaf," Dawn clutched what was left of the tomato and said comforting words to it as it "cried" in her arms.

"It's not as innocent as you think, Bertliz," Leaf said bitterly.

"Apologize right now," Dawn demanded as she held up the tomato in front of Leaf's eyes.

"I am _not _apologizing to that little devil," Leaf turned the other way, hitting it with her hair.

Dawn covered its sides, "Don't you talk about my tomato like that! Do you wanna' go?"

Leaf turned back, "Yeah, you and me this afternoon after school, be there, or are you chicken?"

Dawn chuckled sarcastically, "Why not now,Green?"

"Bring it on Bertliz," Leaf challenged back.

The two girls fell back laughing, recalling their drama class last year, oh how they missed it.

"But in all seriousness," said Dawn, "it's your fault for running into it," She guiltily eyed Leaf, widening her eyes just a bit and pouting as she sadly held up her tomato.

"Ugh fine, I'm sorry Mr. Tomato," Leaf grumbled.

"Kiss it,"

Leaf groaned as she obeyed, "I hate you," she said jokingly.

"I love you too," Dawn stuck out her tongue.

"Well, well, well," said a high-mannered voice, familiar to Dawn's ears.

Dawn chanted pleas in her head that she was overreacting because it was, as she reasoned, a very common voice that could belong to another-

"I hope your cooking is better than your dancing skills,"

"Damn- I mean um darn it," Dawn said aloud.

Leaf looked star struck; she shook her head and elbowed Dawn playfully in the arm, "Didn't know you of all people would let that word slip off your tongue,"

"Hey, Bluebelle, are you deaf too?" Ursula mocked.

Dawn turned around anxiously, nearly knocking off a plate as she reached peculiarly.

"Oh hi Ursula? Stopping by? Well hi, bye. Now go on and you know… do your thing?" Dawn mumbled quickly as she began mixing ingredients with hurry.

"Okay, what?" Ursula asked in her ever-so stuck-up tone, she folded her arms, as if she were anticipating an answer.

"Well it's a pretty day. Isn't it a pretty day? Look at those flowers in the window so pretty well bye must work on this but what are you doing here?" said Dawn in one breath.

Leaf shook her head, "Why are you here, Pigtails?"

Ursula smiled her definition of a sweet smile, "I got moved up because of my talented skills."

Dawn felt her heart pump faster, she nearly fainted and her stomach was slightly nauseous at the news. Something about that girl caused Dawn to be around her little finger, she acted like Ursula's frightened little servant.

"Oh, poor Dawnie," Ursula said in a counterfeit tone. "I guess that makes two top classes she shouldn't be in this year, poor girl," Ursula shook her head with false pity. "What can I say, poor child was the unfortunate result of a mistake involving two stupid teens, a hundred percent accident of course."

"Takes an accident to know an accident, shut your plastic mouth up and take your little Barbie self with you," Leaf said, already annoyed despite not encountering Ursula as much as before.

Dawn looked gratefully at Leaf as she breathed out, trying to ease herself.

"So... Ursula doesn't like you?" asked Leaf.

"No duh she doesn't! I don't know what I ever did to her, God, someday I want-"

Leaf covered Dawn's mouth, cutting off her words.

"First, you did nothing wrong, second," Leaf briefly looked at Dawn before continuing, "someday can be now. No need to act like she's a mad psychopath,"

Dawn lowered her friend's hand slowly, "I don't know why, but I feel frightened when I'm with her,"

Leaf shook her shoulders, "Because you are letting her get to you! She's intimidating you, can't you see? Stand your ground and she'll leave you alone, Dawn,"

"I can stand up to people like Brianna or Misty's sisters even, or..." She stopped herself as she nearly mentioned Prince Charming, or his actual name, Paul.

"They were their problems, not yours. It's easier for you that way. Oh and by the way, I think your mom did a superb job raising you," Leaf smiled.

"You really think so? Or do you just want that 'A'?" Dawn joked.

"Well I want an 'A', but I really do think so. I can see it, how blessed you really are," Leaf patted the bluenette's head softly, "ignore that bitch,"

"You know Leaf, you have a really soft side," Dawn elbowed her friend's arm, winking and nudging.

"Yeah, haha no," Leaf stated honestly.

"Yes you do," Dawn bowed her head, she placed her pointer finger on the watch's protective glass, bringing it towards the clock's signifying arrows.

Leaf peaked, her body stood on one foot as she leaned towards Dawn's wristwatch. "An hour left, yes!"

"Don't you sound excited; does Leaf have a date after school?" Dawn teased.

Leaf gagged bitterly, "No way in Hell, I just wanna' get out of this place,"

"I wanna' sleep but I have creative writing, and I'm not skipping," Dawn stared sharply at Leaf, assuring her friend that she "meant business."

"Do you even know what that means?" asked Leaf.

"Um no," said Dawn. "But it sounds cool,"

Leaf chuckled, "I don't know what it means either but it certainly does sound awesome,"

The two talked as they worked, when they completed their practice assignment, the two girls exchanged mutual high-fives in obvious joy to their teamwork and accomplishment. The real project seemed simple and quick now that they knew the ingredients and correct timing.

As the class ended, while everyone gathered their belongings, Leaf went up to Dawn, "See ya tomorrow, I'm skipping today- and you better not come with me,"

"No way, I'm aiming for straight 'A''s and a good A.C.T. score!"

"Good luck, I'm aiming for… nothing! Bye," said Leaf, smiling away.

"Bye!" said Dawn, waving her arm.

...

The bluenette checked her bag to make sure she had everything for the next class, she eased from her calamity as all her books and notebooks stood in place.

"I'll just check and make sure I have my phone charged," said Dawn aloud, she scuffled through the disorganized bag, searching with hopes she just left it in her locker or at home if it wasn't to be found at school.

"But I had it at lunch and I went to my locker before going downstairs so that means-"

Dawn squeezed her arm tightly, "Not again,"

* * *

><p>"Silly girl," said Ursula, twirling a phone's strap with her finger.<p>

"That would teach little Miss Illegitimate and her tempered little friend to back off," said Georgia in awe of Ursula.

"I think you went too far Ursula," said Iris as she shook her head reluctantly in hidden disagreement.

Ursula's attention waved to Iris, "What did you say to me?"

"Y-you shouldn't break it, and you shouldn't have stolen her wallet either," Iris clutched her book closer to her chest.

Georgia spoke up first, "Are you taking Dawn's side over Ursula?" Iris remained mute.

Ursula filed her nail briskly, "Have you forgotten who made you who you are today? When I first transferred in the middle of freshman year, you were that talented dancer full of wits and cheerfulness- but you were so shy, I took you in and helped you lose your quiet self and form you into- into this!"

Iris breathed through her nose, she knew what her best friend did was wrongful, but she had no place to correct her.

"Wait, why don't you just read her text messages out loud instead," Iris suggested, silently praying that possibly, Dawn will find a way to retrieve her phone.

Ursula smiled and wrapped her arm across her friend's neck, "Now we're talking,"

Iris smiled alongside them, Georgia cleverly spoke up, suggesting that she and Ursula blow Dawn's saved up money on an expensive and quite extravagant shopping spree.

"Wanna' come Iris?" Ursula said to Georgia's obvious dismay.

"Bitch, of course!" Iris said with a sly smile.

All the feelings of guilt washed away as she carried off by her friends.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me, Urusla?"<p>

Ursula heard footsteps follow behind; she was alone at the moment, anticipating the end of the day.

"Paul Shinji?" she gasped in awe. Her annoyed look lightened up, she smiled angelically in amazement he knew her name and said it correctly. "You know my name and said it correctly," Anybody who didn't know her would find her to be the kindest person in the world with the way she acted.

"It's _not_ exactly_ challenging_ to recall that octopus from The Little Mermaid, I can't erase myself from the traumatizing nightmares that thing gave to me as a child, is that how your mother choose your name? Ursula was an envious and freighting character, just like yourself," Paul kept his arms crossed as he said this. "Oh, and because you love hearing about yourself, you might enjoy knowing that you resemble her too, if stretched, some might say you both sound alike,"

Paul couldn't mask his grin as it flowingly escaped his usually controlled grasps.

Ursula looked oblivious to the whole situation; Paul wasn't supposed to say this, he knew her name for heaven's sake!

Paul tugged on a dazzled phone strap, releasing it from Ursula's grip. "I'll take this," his onyx eyes impertinently identified a rose-colored wallet held loosely together by aging leather, "and this," he unzipped the breaking thing and found it moneyless, containing only a picture and a library card.

Paul's grouchy eyes seemed to get colder as he looked agilely at the thief, "I presume that you had whisked away the money and implanted it into your own bag for personal uses, I am highly sure it's to buy useless junk to boast up your appeal,"

"What do you want? You don't even know Dawn," she was shaken, someone had caught her, but worst of all, it was someone who she wouldn't mind being with.

"I know that she did nothing to you," Paul said, he left her in the art of blabbering as he walked off, stuffing a few hundred dollar bills into the emptied wallet.

* * *

><p>"Artists see the world in a way that people don't, you guys notice things that people don't usually pay any attention to," said Drew.<p>

May and Drew both laid on the library couches lazily, they discussed many things during the hour they spent together after literally running into each other.

"And musicians like yourself hear things people don't hear or take note of," said May while packing up after finishing.

"Exactly; everyone has the gift, some just don't use it," said Drew, flipping a book quickly, the pages made a whisking sound in the muteness of the room. Noticing the time, he dropped the book on the coach and roughly grabbed his bag as he dropped it accidentally, causing a few eyes to notice.

"Sssh," the librarian chastised.

Drew groaned, wishing people would mind their own business.

May waited for him outside the library doors, "No one was studying in there," she pointed out.

"She hates boys, May," Drew held on to his backpack using a single shoulder.

"She liked Ash?"

Drew chuckled, "Yeah, she has to, she can't hate the boys who bring home championships," he paused for a moment to tie his shoelace. "Me? I don't feel like doing those kind of things, so I'm not considered anything special in her eyes,"

"Come on Drew, look at the bright side," May reasoned.

Drew smirked, "If I whispered any louder I would have only gotten a detention? Oh joy, such a blessing," he said sarcastically.

May thought for a moment, "There's a bright side, I don't know what-"

"Exactly, Sunshine. There's no bright side, I never knew you were 'Miss Optimistic'," Drew teased, patting May on the head.

"Do you have to keep calling me that nickname?" May groaned.

Drew grinned as he shook his head, his thoughts oblivious to May.

"W-what?" May asked, knowing he was thinking of something.

"Look at the bright side," Drew mimicked her voice, "at least I don't call you Red,"

May scratched her head, "Why would you-" she blushed awkwardly when she realized.

"Why you-wait, Paul?" May watched as Paul stood, cross legged, leaned backed against the wall.

"I guess he's picking you up," said Drew.

"You're making it seem like he's my babysitter," May commented.

Drew shook his head while chuckling, "It looks like he's been waiting here forever,"

"I have," said Paul.

"For me?" May asked innocently.

"Not you- him," Paul pointed his finger at Drew, who appeared as confused as a blind turtle.

"What-"

Paul handed Drew a shining phone, obviously new, with a sparkling phone strap that May thought to be Dawn's. He reached into his bag and pulled out an unwavering wallet with the ends of money hanging off the sides.

Drew identified the items quickly, "These are Dawn's, how did you-"

"Someone stole these items, I wasn't quite estimated on the amount of money originally inside, therefore, I placed an unknown amount inside,"

Paul left off, ignoring Drew's called-out questions and as mysteriously as he came, he left.

Drew's eyes met May's, silently asking thousands of questions within his emerald orbs.

May lifted her shoulders, having no clue as well.

"That's not a very 'Paul like' thing to do," said May.

Drew nearly fainted as he opened the wallet and saw semi-crisp bills overflowing.

May stretched her neck out to see, "Did I mention Paul's … um…rich?"

Drew shook his head, "Have they met- how did he know-"

"I wish I knew, I'll ask him later, okay?" May quickly turned her back, feeling someone was with them.

"Something wrong?" asked Drew.

"I feel like something's with us- watching our every move," May confessed, feeling slightly terrified, her heartbeat seemed to have sped up a few miles.

Drew felt as if something was touching his spine, it was… chilling. _Why did the air feel ghostly?_ He took in the scent of the air; he immediately motioned May to leave now. The two ran across, hand and hand, without turning back.

As soon as they were out of sight, a redhead, heavily scented in her favorite perfume, popped her head out of her plant.

* * *

><p>"What," May said between breaths, "was-that-Drew,"<p>

The two slowed their pace, walking through the empty halls.

"That psychotic bitch-" Drew replied slowly.

"Who?" asked May.

"My ex-girlfriend, Brianna, she used to drown herself in some Victoria's Secret perfume every day, the same scent," Drew remembered coughing heavily as a direct result of the strong scent.

"She was there? Are you positive?" May was more curious about the relationship, she secretly wondered: What went wrong?

"She's crazy, don't get involved with her," Drew unscrewed his water bottle cap before pouring the refreshing water into his mouth without touching anything but the water. He handed the close-to-full bottle to May, who declined at first but gradually decided to have a taste.

"Drew, just wondering, what happened between you?" May asked once she regained her voice.

"She cheated on me with some other guy," Drew said with an emotionless tone, it was straight forward and contained no voice cracks.

May gasped in surprise, her eyes ignited by a sudden memory as well of her first relationship. She wondered if it was his first relationship as well, but most of all, she wondered why anyone would break a nice guy's heart.

_Did they kiss? Was she his first relationship? __And, __w__hy do I care so much about the details?_

"Is it that shocking?" Drew flipped his hair away from his face.

"Was she your first relationship?" asked May.

"Eh, yeah, I was just upset that she practically forced me into going out and ended up cheating. She seemed fine at first, I must admit. But she soon became oddly clingy and jealous of my friends, I gave it a chance and it didn't end in good terms,"

"Did you two ever…kiss?"

Drew looked at her with his usual teasing smile, "What if I said yes?"

May blushed, "I'm just wondering!" she said defensively.

"Sure, Sunshine; and I suppose I'd be "just wondering" how your lip tastes by kissing it right now," Drew stroked her cheek lightly.

May fell silent from his soft touch, her face felt awfully heated; now more than ever before. He was teasing her, making some sort of metaphor in a friendly way. Not to leave out, he only thought of her as a friend.

"I don't think I'll complain about being called Sunshine anymore," May mumbled.

"Never?" asked Drew.

May tilted her head to the side, "Hmm?"

"We didn't kiss, none of that stuff, it was just a relationship deemed too boring by her,"

"Oh… Well, I'm glad," May came to a sudden realization that they have been classmates for three whole years, yet she only found out about his existence less than a month ago.

Where they friends? Yes. Close friends? No.

But he was someone who, in the short time May had known him, felt a bit comfortable with. While there were still awkward silences and loss of conversation, the more they talked and got to know each other, the more those awkward times seemed to decline.

_We're just friends, becoming closer, but right now we're just friends getting to know each other; we're still on that stage,_ May thought.

…...

**So, originally I made a chapter foreshadowing May feelings for Ash. Advanceshipping..and..**

**I've decided to take that out! So no romance/love/advanceshipping in a non platonic way.**

**I'm editing that chapter why is..it just doesn't seem to work with the story.**


	11. Getting Closer

A/N: Has anyone heard of the err "changes" that happened this summer to this website? Apparently fanfiction is pretty much going to be deleting a lot of stories that violate the rules. So in case of anything..I was thinking of posting on to livejournal and this. I don't think any of my fanfics violate any rule but I want to be cautious. Only at the moment I'm confused on what to do lol the website is a little confusing.

In case anyone's curious: My username there is ulqui_himexx

_…_

"Hey Misty," Drew called out.

"Oh hi," Misty removed a colorful bookmark from the secureness of the title page and placed it on her current. Her punishment wasn't exactly easy on the brain; but considering how things came into place it seemed better than what he could have done; and levels greater when compared to Angie's. She snarled as she thought of the name; Misty admitted to disliking people easily, but Angie was just an exception to any of her personal attempts to keep her temper cooled. "Just so you know, I'll be locked in my room completing English assignments all day,"

"That's what you get for being smart," Drew patted her on the shoulder sympathetically. "Oh yeah, where were you at lunch today?"

"I ate at Miss. Cynthia's office today; and that's when I received my homework," Misty explained spitefully, her cerulean eyes twitched responsively.

Drew raised an eyebrow; he looked awfully confused as he rubbed his temples, "Why did you eat at the principal's office? And why did you just receive it then and not in_ English_ class?

Misty smiled bitterly, "Oh you really want to know?" She groaned and berated herself once again—which she had been doing all day—especially because of the morning events.

"No, because after knowing me for years I never cared once about you and your whereabouts; especially concerning something troubling," Drew snorted out as his arms crossed. "Just tell me,"

"Oh well I didn't do homework," Misty heard a gasp escape Drew's mouth as she began to explain, "And well, I didn't know what we were doing or how to explain something; I just walked out and was piled with homework,"

She didn't lie, no, Misty just discreeted the situation. She wasn't going to worry anyone else about what had happened. She remembered how worried her teacher and principal seemed; as if they didn't fully buy the story but let the situation go and gave her the benefit of the doubt.

"And what else, give me the full details, Misty," Drew waited motionlessly for a response.

"And Ash followed me and gave me my notebook back; he gave me the answer to my homework too," Misty placed a hand on her hip, "Happy now?"

"Aw how sweet of him," said Drew. A small thought ran through his mind; a slight little idea that grew larger and larger the more he pondered upon it. "I think he_ likes_ you, Misty" his voice steadied in all seriousness. Misty's jaws were tightly clenched, her spine seemed stiffened; she seemed voiceless for a moment before she unclenched her mouth and laughed.

"That's your best one yet Drew, okay maybe I jumped to conclusions too fast but come on now! He's simply a classmate, we don't dislike each other but all he ever will be is a guy in a classroom," Misty found it ridiculous two people of the same gender were unable to lend a hand to the other; let alone _talk_ without others assuming a relationship was there or in the making.

"I'm calling it; and when it happens I need the satisfaction of knowing I was right; which I will be," Drew assured Misty once more that his arrogance was less but not lost. He laughed lightly when Misty huffed and looked the opposite way—ironically starring at a tiny _Ash_ tree.

Misty spotted a figure dressed and modeled exactly like Dawn—she craned her head and spotted the navy blue hair; unmistakably Dawn's too. "Dawn!" she waved her hands and called out. The figure responded by twisting her head and following the hand as if she were being hypnotized to come forward.

Drew and Misty looked enthusiastic but Dawn's eyes looked puffy; her cheeks tinted in a light shade of pink. Dried tears made her face appear a little sticky while new ones rained down without a care in the world. Misty pulled her friend in for a hug and wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl's shoulders.

"I-I lost it," said Dawn between cries. She wept heavily, pulling back from the comforting embrace she then took the time to apologize for wetting Misty's shirt.

"First, I honestly don't care if the shirt is wet. Your feelings are far more important. Second, I'm going to find the unlucky dumbass who stole it. And I swear that idiot will regret being born after me..," Misty tugged Drew by the sleeve, "and Drew are through with him!"

Drew let his backpack slide off his shoulder, he slid the zipper across the edges of its line and pulled out a breaking wallet and an unbroken phone—all pink.

"My phone! My wallet!" Dawn briskly wiped the tears off with her hands and smiled as she received the lost items once again.

"May's friend..umm..someone May knows and lives with found that and told me to give it to you," Drew explained. "I've seen him before, Paul..I think that's his name." He paused to recall what else Paul mentioned, "Dawn, someone stole these things from you. I don't know who, but it seems as if he got it back for you,"

"Isn't that sweet of him; but how would he know?" asked Misty.

"I'm not sure, May probably talked to him about us and he knew from her. There was a picture of me inside and if he's seen Drew before there's no doubt he connected the lines," Dawn thought of another Paul; Prince Charming..or as she called him, Paul. Funny coincidence, considering how common the name is; she knew all it was…

Will always be a simple coincidence.

xxx

"Paul can we talk?" asked May.

"In a minute," he mumbled as he flipped the page of his book. He pointed the inking pen at the surface of the paper and copied notes for his assignment. After a few minutes he closed the book; causing it to make a soft dropping noise; he closed his pen and neatly highlighted his homework before pushing that aside as well. He looked up in annoyance, "What," he muttered.

"Who took Dawn's things?" asked May, she took a seat across from him; her elbows touched the surface while the rest of her arm was pointed vertically.

"Oh right, how silly of me. You were there too," Paul rolled his eyes and took a deep breath as he wasn't in the mood for an explanation..which would have been far from the truth.

"And how did you know who Dawn was? And how did you figure out Drew knew her?" May gestured him curiously to explain.

Paul frowned, "As I'm not in a good mood at the moment," he sympathetically turned his coal-like eyes away from May, "don't expect a detailed explanation,"

May smiled, "As long as all the important details are covered we'll be okay," she informed.

Paul sighed, "Very well," he lifted himself off the chair—to May's sudden surprise—and leisurely walked into the living room where he scrimmaged through their belongings. His eyes traced the words and images; searching for any signs of what was needed.

A picture painted a thousand words after all, but _a picture also saves him from saying a thousand words," _He thought to himself, preferring the second part over the first.

He showed small emotion when he finally located the needed material, "Ahh, here," he pulled off the said thing and rapidly read through.

May could only watch in blistering confusion as Paul's eyes scanned the center of a yearbook page. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted as Paul smacked the yearbook on a close by table, his fingers pointing on a certain picture.

A delicate looking girl, decorated with pink curls and ribbons smiled shyly at the camera.

"Ursula..interesting name," May mumbled quietly.

"I referenced The Little Mermaid as we spoke too," May could have sworn she saw him smirk; she corrected herself, knowing some things were out of reach. But it looked as if Paul's black- onyx eyes fill with something..an amused emotion? From what has been known; he had two looks—anger or his natural expression.

"You know, I think Dawn would be delighted to meet you, Drew told me how she was so grateful and couldn't thank you enough—"

"No," said Paul sternly, he lifted his chin up. "Tell whoever her name was that the favor is a onetime thing. What happened is the result of accidentally over hearing and precisely connecting the dots,"

May looked confused, "But you didn't need to do it, you wanted to"

"Listen now," Paul placed his index finger in the air, "I felt sickly as they discussed their plans; money and such should be in hopefully useful hands; not blown on overpriced designer maternal," Paul lifted his middle finger up as well, adding to his other finger which stood comfortably up in the air, "I don't do things for the benefit of others; I aim for the benefit of myself. I wanted to express my own personal opinion on someone and took the chance. No pity at all to the girl; but just my anger which acted on my feelings,"

"Paul you're just denying yourself the deed; why can't you admit the happy thought that you..did something right? You knew it was wrong and did what you needed to do," May took a short breath, she couldn't conclude what Paul's reasons were, but long story short she—and every single breathing person were incapable of figuring out the mystery that was he.

Saturday was a fresh relief for Paul; his whole week was typical. Like life was; typical and normal. Boring and bland—as it always had been.

He impatiently—and in his opinion—painfully-kept still in the back seat of his driver's car; it appeared as though he looked straightforward; but his irises took peeks at the world he passed by. He'd look with the corner of his eye or slightly adjust his head positioning; the world he wasn't apart of would pass through before he had a nice look.

His world was what it had always been—except for one thing.

Her—Dawn. From what he knew; he meant the Dawn who talked to him first, the one who argued with him and persisted, the one girl he stereotyped badly the first time they met.

But she's also the one girl who strives and arguably succeeds in proving his first impressions wrong.

When they met, sudden interest erupted from the melancholy in his inner-self: His desire to know and secretly his want for something new. The sudden interest developed its roots from her; someone added to his life but not quite a disturbance to the usual order.

Paul rubbed the empty phone screen till it activated; _"one new message," _he read gleefully. He scrolled up to hopefully recall what they talked about just for the purpose of sounding like he cared—he did give half a damn about it but couldn't quite grasp the conversation.

_Dawn: This is weird..coming from me..but I need to tell someone._

_Paul: Hm. What?_

_Dawn: My friends are talented at something; and I just feel ordinary. One's amazingly smart; she's great at sports too. The other is a musician with great grades and an ear for hearing. Cooking isn't anything. It takes me a while and I'm not that great. I need recipe books sometimes and I just feel ordinary._

Paul remember sympathizing; he thought of his own…talents. None significant like those mentioned; he was intelligent—sure. But academic intelligence was common these days..

_Paul: Well you know what? You aren't ordinary; I have seen ordinary and you are..in fact very weird. Talents come in different forms; maybe you possess something they lack? Cooking skills? _

_Dawn: I'm good at pretending and lying…_

_Paul: How so? You seem the opposite of that; in fact my jaw had dropped when I read that._

_Dawn: I never told them about my problems; but they found one out. I want to find my father and they have no clue. My mother..no one; you are the first to know. _

_Paul: And why won't you tell them the second? The first problem could possibly be understandable..the second; could give you pairs of hands._

_Dawn: I don't know; I just didn't want to._

_Paul: Because you want to look independent? That's your motto isn't it? You don't desire help; it's your mission. Right? However if you are immensely sincere on reasons why I'd say grab help._

_Dawn: He left my mom when I was still young. I just need to know whom he is; to meet him, he didn't raise me but he's still my dad. I think you're right..surprisingly. But I still want to do this on my own; they don't need any more problems._

Paul blinked; he sounded..kind.

_Paul: Some things aren't meant for independent egos. Sharing the burden is necessary to succeed at times. Go ahead; if you want to I won't stop you..I can't stop you actually._

_Dawn: It's funny; I claim to have a lot of confidence when I really don't._

_Paul: Lying and acting does wonders; doesn't it?_

_Dawn: Plenty full. I excel in that class._

_Paul: That's one thing you are; an excellent actress._

_Dawn: But that can't get me far_

_Paul: It already has. You have something they don't. You're peculiar..and not very..typical. That's to say. You are something else, I cannot even describe it in one text message._

Paul gasped loudly—he _complimented_ her?! He was patient, understanding—how tired was he?

"Are you alright, Shinji?" asked the driver. Paul dryly nodded; not a day over his..compliments.

Paul reluctantly scrolled down; the most recent messages from both was full of politeness and ungeared certain aspects of Paul's much organized—and full of self-control—brain.

"You know if someone else said that to me I'd be insulted; but by now I know you well enough to take it as a compliment.." Paul read quietly; at the end of the first sentence was a little keyboard grin—or as he reads it—colon "D".

"And you know we do know each other well enough! I really want to meet you someday; I know it can be stupid but I trust you enough to know you are who you are," Paul committed another stunt that would cause his whole damn school to gasp—he smiled; not one of sarcasm or amusement of someone's misfortunes—a sad little smile that spread through his eyes, making his eyes look almost..teary? Touched? No—he wanted to know this was all a stage; he wasn't beginning to show..emotion. He wasn't liking her more than he should be allowed.

He hated to say this; another unexplainable thing that even Paul cannot provide an answer to:

Paul was glad he was going to visit his brother Reggie.

…

"Hey Paul!" Reggie called out; as usual he appeared unorganized and full of love and smiles—all those useless little aspects. Paul kept his hands settingly within his clean and vacuous pockets; his mouth didn't dare speak a word nor did his eyes care enough to completely look—preferring glances through the sides of his irises.

_Wonderful, _Paul thought. Reggie was running towards him and chanting his name like the idiots hired in commercials with unbelievably horrid acting skills. He cringed; he can't associate the term _acting_ with anything else but the name _Dawn._

"Hi," said Paul flatly; fixing his gaze on some inanimate object lying across the campus.

"Long time no see," Reggie scuffled through Paul's_ formally_ untangled hair. Despite its shaggy-looking cut he kept himself cleanly and quite groomed; especially compared to most teenagers inhabiting his age group.

"It's _only_ been two weeks," Paul replied flatly; ignoring brotherly affection.

"I've missed you still," Paul shrugged Reggie's hand off his head.

Reggie shook his head; he smiled while doing so, "Typical, killjoy Paul,"

"Hymph," Paul twisted himself to look away defensively.

"Come inside little brother," said Reggie; gesturing for Paul to follow.

When they were securely inside; Paul knew the tradition—remove shoes before entering another's—or your own—home. Barefoot, Paul opened the—as he expected; still cluttered closet door and slipped a pair of slip-on shoes used only inside, off an umbrella rack. The shoes landed softly on the ground and Paul slid the pair on to his feet.

Reggie locked the front door, "You know you could've just kept your shoes, right?" Paul's brother chuckled at his organized brother's ways.

"That would be disrespectful; plus mine are full of germs and dirt," Paul commented flatly.

"Do you really think I care about that stuff?" asked Reggie sincerely.

"No," Paul answered.

"You know as hosts we have to make our guests feel comfortable—"

"And as guests we have to be honorable as we are only guests with the fortune of entering the host's house, when invited be polite," Paul crossed his arms and walked off; sighing at his brother's attitude.

Lazily, Paul collapsed on Reggie's sofa; stretching his arm; Paul placed his phone on the middle table before returning to the quite easing feeling of lying down.

"Someone's tired," Reggie commented.

Paul sat up as fast as an average person can blink, "No I'm not,"

"Typical in denial Paul," Reggie smirked and shook his head.

"Typical unusually happy Reggie," Paul mimicked his older brother's previous little actions; only sounding less emotional.

"Of course I'm happy!" Reggie grinned widely, "Now go in the dining room; I prepared a meal for us," Paul groaned and grabbed his phone.

Living without a roommate was lonesome for Reggie; his father thought it would be better if he fended without another's company; fearing his eldest "son" would ruin the name—which Reggie had to bear.

Paul rubbed his eyes; when he arrived in the dining room he needed to assure himself he wasn't dreaming. The room..was organized, polished, and uncluttered..yet. The table was full of obviously restaurant-bought dishes; Paul could see the bags and boxes from his view point.

"A clean room, finally! Am I reading you right?" Renji leaned on one side of the doorway

Paul nodded and pulled out a chair for himself; once seated he stretched his arm under the long fruit-themed tablecloth and quickly typed out a response for Dawn.

_Paul: Meeting you would be ten times more arguing and a hundred times more insults. But yes; I do want to know you too. I'm currently at my brother's dorm—Reggie..I believe I mentioned him once?_

"Eat up," said Reggie as he set two porcelain plates with silverware on top for Paul and he.

"Impressive; I do like the variety set out," Paul played a little with Reggie to see if his dear sweet brother would admit to the obvious.

"It was hard to cook this all, but hey it was worth it," Reggie seated himself quickly, crossing a leg over the other.

"I can see the take-out boxes and bags from multiple restaurants," said Paul.

"Oh damn I forgot you can see the garbage area from positions here," Reggie scratched his head awkwardly; his face flustering just enough for someone to be able to see from the doorway. "Well, it took a good hour to get all these things," Reggie stretched his arms out; fists clenched, in celebration.

"Say what you want," Paul smirked and began adding portions to his cluttering plate.

A little beep sounded off—Paul's ringtone.

"Girlfriend?" Reggie teased.

It was Paul's turn to appear crimson; the City of Paul that inhabited Paul's mind was in disaster—in one day he genuinely smiled and blushed..and not just that; the cooking reminded him that Dawn was an amazing cook; acting oblivious just moments ago reminded him that Dawn was a talented actress.

"Well, I would like to meet this girl, not everyday someone sees over your cold demeanor," Reggie teased; in all seriousness, he honest-to-God wondered how Paul could open up to someone, his younger brother was..intimidating, his eyes were enough to push people away and frighten young kids. (Which he actually had done one Christmas…)

"_Merry Christmas," said Paul dryly, lacking any jolly emotion. Looking with the bottom of his irises; Paul handed each kid a gift; courtesy of his father's business. Hence why the presents were labeled under their family company._

"_Why don't you smile?" asked a little girl as she ripped through the gift wrappings._

"_Because I don't like smiling," Paul replied coldly. The little girl stood on the tips of her toes and tried to identify if he was real or a robot. Paul saw her using the corners of his eyes and gave the kid an icing glare._

_The poor kid's eyes expanded, "Ah!" she yelled and ran off without taking even one gaze back._

_The others looked up with the same curiosity, Paul responded with his usual enthusiasm. _

"_Alien!" one yelled as the group of kids ran to their parents. _

_Paul sighed with relief; he yanked off his reindeer headband and was soon going to remove the despicable outfit. _

"_You couldn't have smiled; even a little?" asked Reggie; who played an elf._

"_No," Paul muttered as he walked as far away from the scene as possible._

Memory lane in their family was indeed a unique experience; Reggie chuckled when the Christmas fiasco and others flashed through his mind. Time flew by fast; the emotionless reindeer grew up to be a sarcastic _and _emotionless teenager. But for once…Paul had started showing signs of an emotion. How long had Reggie failed to notice? He did note how he could have possibly been showing signs that Reggie failed to notice. This was one of their longer get-togethers without any distraction from basketball.

"Girlfriend? It was Ash," Paul cleverly tried to lie.

"Well.." Reggie perked both his eyebrows.

"Let's just eat," Paul bitterly dismissed his brother's suggestive mind.

Lunch wasn't quiet; though the topic wasn't brought up again. Paul offered to clean-up while Reggie lazily sat on the coach complaining about officiating from a basketball game.

Paul's phone was charging not far from where Reggie was sitting; suddenly, an annoying little beep sounded off from the damn thing. Reggie unplugged it, swiped the lock, and was walking over to hand it over to his brother when his fingers accidentally opened up a message.

Reggie was confused so he scrolled up and began to read the conversation that extended from most of yesterday to today. He noticed how long the conversation had streamed; he decided all that would be needed is the most recent messages.

_Dawn: Yeah but that's how relationships work, put aside our arguments we'd get along much better too! ^_^ Oh and how is it with your brother?_

_Paul: Currently eating dinner oh and this is running out of battery._

The next couple discussed Paul's feelings about his brother—which Reggie was completely aware of.

One certain message stood out from the rest:

_Dawn: Reggie? The one whom Cho choose over you? You've told me that you dislike him but like visiting him; I think you should make the most out of this visit. You love your brother, Paul. Don't add any negative feelings pertaining from Cho. I know it's going to be a rough transition..but try to work it out_

It was bluntly obvious Paul had told her more; while the few he had sent during lunch were discreet and puzzling to any oblivious person—she knew and interpreted the little information she had with what she had already known.

_Paul: Maybe you are a little correct; I assume I'm just bitter about waking up in the morning. That's all_

_Dawn: You could just be jealous._

_Paul: I don't get jealous._

_Dawn: Everyone feels all emotions; you are just good at hiding it from others and yourself._

The conversation ended there for the meantime, those small little text messages spoke millions of words to Reggie—he knew it wasn't Ash. Grinning wildly and chuckling like an idiot; Reggie's arm brushed on the doorway as he waited for Paul to finish; which would be in a few short moments.

"What do you want?" Paul sighed when he saw Reggie—remembering Dawn's words he lowered the volume of his sigh to seem a little more respectful.

"Dawn's her name, isn't it?" Reggie asked.

Paul's eyes enlarged; his heart rate pumped faster than ever. He knew Reggie went through his texts; but no one else other than Ash and he had known about Dawn and M.W.

"How?" Paul hadn't stuttered but he choked his words out.

"Nothing to be embarrassed of, Paul.; she's a good, smart girl," Reggie praised.

Paul shook his head; "It's more than that," he whispered. Reggie hadn't heard that; fortunately.

"Next time I visit I'd love to meet her—"

"You can't," Paul cut him off.

Reggie cocked his head to the side, "Is she not from your school?"

Paul lowered his head, "I don't know," he admitted.

"Then who is she? And where is she from?" Reggie asked.

Paul gestured his older brother to the living room, "Take a seat and I'll explain," Reggie nodded and did as told. Crossing a leg over his own, Paul began to tell someone the unique tale.

"It all started when Ash found a lost phone.."

…

Reggie stayed mute while Paul explained in full-detail who Dawn was and where she could possibly be.

"A girl from my school is named Dawn; I helped him greatly by returning her phone and wallet..and also generously donated a few dollar-bills,"

Reggie knew Paul just filled it with a handful of money no matter the amount.

"I had a suspicion we attended the same boarding school; not impossible taken into account how diverse my school is, " Paul rubbed his aching back; he hadn't notice his leaning position as he explained. How some get away without a cramp courtesy of slouching Paul couldn't answer.

"Are you going to meet her?" asked Reggie with great optimism; his hands were glued together as if he were silently pleading.

"No," Paul shook his head.

"Why not?" asked Reggie.

Paul exhaled a little, "That girl is causing me to overthink—and I believe it is a name coincidence. Dawn is a common name,"

Reggie's eyes seemed to glow darker if that was logically possible; his body stiffened and without a shiver to his voice, he said, "You are just afraid of change,"

Paul eyes amplified with that little comment. Calming himself, he relaxed his frozen muscles and swiped the shocked appearance from his eyes. "I want to know who she is; but I believe she isn't close by—she isn't the one who attends my school,"

"You doubt yourself purposely, brother," Reggie quivered only his head in a swaying side motion.

"I do not," Paul confidently denied.

"You want to know who she is—and you have a clear chance right here. You have a suspicion; I do too," Reggie had never spoken like this to Paul in his life; he wasn't that type of person as he claimed. But in this situation, date, and time—he needed to raise his voice just a pitch more and speak his opinions bluntly.

"I don't want to be oblivious, I just want to know. Simply that," Paul scowled; he was growing in annoyance.

"You spoke a different tone without her," Reggie cooed.

"I meant that I wanted to know who she was," Paul retorted.

His brother rose an eyebrow and leaned his head a little less symmetrically towards his right shoulder, "You are an in denial little brother, aren't ya?"

"I'm not in denial!" Paul said..in denial.

"You are in denial about being in denial, in denial about your heart's desires, in denial about-"

"My heart's _what_?" Paul blurted out.

"Desires," Reggie placed his pointer finger in the air, "desires—verb or noun depending, it means to want, to long for, to wish for—"

"I know what they are!" Paul was clutching a pillow to ease out his stress.

"Then follow them," Reggie said, to put it simply. "Listen to what your heart and conscience say; they aren't exactly far off. Heart can be very fickle; it's rash. Conscience works with the heart to keep it from doing something idiotic. Mind thinks logically; but conscience thinks neutrally,"

Paul opened his mouth several times to retort something back; but found himself breathless and unable to. He hated to say it—but Reggie was right. He wanted to know who she was; but he was afraid.

Paul was in a world where everything was a copy of something; he tolerated it no matter how critical he could be. It was the world he had known and grown comfortable in; he was indeed very pessimistic—a word that he called himself.

Dawn was a part; a small little inhabitant.

But if she were to grow into a bigger part change would arise. Paul breathed out in defeat; he was going to try and let those feelings go.

He was going to become more persistent; Paul was going to remain cautious however, he decided that he'll find and pick up little clues that can be put together. He also didn't want to look her up in the yearbook—he wanted to wait to see her face-to-face instead of a picture; it made it more special in his opinion.

Reggie smiled, "You'll find her, I'm sure"

"I am positive as well," Paul curved the tips of his lips towards the ceiling; a small little smile plastered.

"But just wondering..Ash and his friend?"

"Ash was a dense kid; no matter what academic intelligence says he is still a little dense. He believes they all reside in Twinleaf town and attend a separate school; he doesn't believe they are anywhere near us. If Dawn is my Dawn—"

"Aw," gushed Reggie; Paul glared bitterly; shadowing his slightly embarrassed look.

He continued; his glare explained enough, "Then Misty is the girl he's looking for, but I'll let him find that out for himself if he ever does," Both brothers chuckled sourly.

"The truth will be set free eventually; Ash and umm..Misty will know as Dawn and you will too," said Reggie encouragingly.

"But if this isn't M.W. and Dawn—"

"Don't be pessimistic; there's a half chance for both possibilities. Give both a chance,"

Paul nodded; he was too tired to continue…at least for today.

…

A/N: I loved writing this chapter lol. Paul and Reggie are pretty fun to write XD.

Oh and also I calculated this up; I believe the story will have 32-40 chapters before completion. The last two may just be epilogues. (Plural lol)

On another note; Paul is in the right direction. Little poll here; but other than the obvious (Paul, Reggie, Dawn)

Who do you think will know who "M.W", "Cinderella Man", Prince Charming", and Dawn really are next? And if they don't already know about the situation..who will know?

Drew

Ash

May

Angie

Leaf

Misty

Ursula

Anyone who gets it right will get a preview for it sent via PM. I won't say when it'll be yet but soon. I think everyone will know in chapter 14-16. And right after I post the chapter before the answer is revealed; I'll write the next part immediately after and PM it.


	12. What you want may not be what you get

**High school started… ;_;. Now I have to sleep early, at like 12 A.M..ack. That's not really early. I guess..lol. Since this thing called school is starting, I'm going to go on random hiatus; I can tell yall that. I mean; some of you witnessed my long updates haha.**

**I loved hearing your opinions on the question. I'll post it again at the end of the chapter(:**

**Oh and I keep hearing this lullaby/beeping sound playing..what is this. Like I don't know where it's coming from! It's just playing and it sounds so sweet and peaceful…it must be creepy! Like it's too calming, it's creepy.**

**Before I scare anyone (haha I bet I already have the day I started the story XD) here's chapter 12.**

**Thank you to Hoenn Master96 for the edits done.**

…12…..

"Posture, Miss. Berlitz! Excellent Miss Ursula Lafleur —nothing short of excellent—what else can I say about my top student?" Fantina gushed.

Ursula sent a smirking gaze towards Dawn's way as the pink-haired girl landed the last routine with undeniable grace and perfection.

"Amazing," Georgia praised.

"Wow, you nailed it so accurately, Ursula!" Dawn said with astonishment.

Ursula was talented; that was certain. Despite the pigtailed dancer's thievery attempts last week, Dawn had learned to let it go —no that was a lie—she was still upset. But Dawn, wanting to be the bigger person, put it aside and praised her like the rest of the class did.

"Accurate? I was off-beat by a few seconds and I twisted too much. I also could have shown much more emotion than that -Please, just leave me alone. I mean everyone here already knows you practically obsess to be like me," Ursula bashed as she unscrewed the cap off her water-bottle. Bringing it up to her lips, she allowed the refreshing water to cool herself off; Dawn saw glimpses of Ursula's usual smug look even when drinking. It was as if the girl was born snobby.

"How original, what else is there to say about a typical self-absorbed doll?" Drew and Paul would equally be proud—Dawn stood up for herself and used sarcasm. Hence why Misty was smart, she remembered the exact words—which the redhead may had used in a teasing way and not legitimate. "You are turning into Drew." A small smile quirked up against the edges of Dawn's mouth; it seemed as if it were only yesterday. But just like seconds, days had sped up and finished quicker than any Olympic gold-medalist had.

"What did you just say?" Ursula looked intimidating; she pursed her lips and was slowly grinding her teeth in anger.

Dawn valiantly smiled, "I don't repeat myself to those who can't listen," She rolled her head before she brought her arms up, stretching towards the sky—well... Ceiling. Kindergarten teachers used to persuade the little children to follow by making stretching sound more…fun. The little ones actually tried to reach for the stars—some got up on tippy-toes while others tripped trying.

"I heard well enough," Ursula assured. Frown lines rivaling a stripped pattern appeared on Ursula's forehead.

Dawn only inched a tiny smile. The bluenette was lacking sleep; she was rested enough to know that—but if she had slept at least six hours she wouldn't have mumbled a certain obscene syllable.

The conversation last night… Dawn was a bit dazed: She and Paul had been talking more… Frequently. She guiltily confessed that she had conversed with him more than her two friends who lived in her house. Though the trio did talk more than the average family did.

She was someone who relied on faith to settle things: A dreamer, believing everything happened for a reason. She felt her irises bounce as she pondered on what the signs were trying to communicate to her.

Was something going to happen? Something that hauled Dawn closer and closer to Paul? A small chuckle freely flowed from her mouth, everyone loved to tell her that mere little fairytales were fairytales, and most dreams are just that—dreams.

The teen tapped a finger to her chin as she mentally pictured how—being the optimist she is, Dawn knew in her heart that a connection existed that would eventually lead them to meet—they'd meet.

Unromantic, because a romantic meeting would just be corny. She blinked several times before reanalyzing the first carton of her train of thought; an unusual little thought—random, definitely. Not that the girl desired it to be romantic, but she found the word…inappropriate to associate with any first-moment meets.

It wouldn't be straightly bland or blunt, but not of any certain category of all loving feelings. Dawn rolled her shoulders while crooning a song she deeply loved from her close-to-infinite playlists.

He wouldn't have soft eyes: Dawn couldn't see him or hear his voice, and she had no physical way to analyze using her knowledge. She had words influenced by his mind and with a slim chance, his heart. Dawn's own brain interpreted the messages, her mind created a little voice for him.

But his eyes were a given; they'd be cold. Icy or mysteriously dark—it was between those two. Paul gave Dawn the impression of him being organized, a complete neat-freak and probably decades worse than Misty in that category.

Paul's vocal cords would produce an emotionless sound stringing from the tips to the opening in his mouth. These little details were givens, the only ones Dawn felt positive in.

Hair? Height? Skin tone? Those were the unknown.

"Let's get back to work ladies!"

Fatina's shrill voice gifted Dawn's distracted elf a motion of spine tingling jumpiness. Taking one last sip of the sweet water, she twisted the cap and assured herself it wouldn't spill before carefully placing it down and getting back to work.

* * *

><p>"To wake you all up," Mr. Brown sent a knowledgeable gaze towards the entire class's way, "I have a proposition; something I find particularly intriguing,"<p>

"Field trip?" Angie suggested, "Particularly to a romantic play or a tragedy," She brought her hands to her chest and crossed them so they intersected overdramatically, she let out a small sigh as her eyes closed for a brief moment.

"Well if we're going to see a sad movie or play then good luck handling her Ash," warned Misty light-heartedly, she curved her mouth into a sneaky smile and looked pitifully at him.

The class chuckled—completely forgetting it was Misty who made the comment. To put it simply, Misty Waterflower wouldn't be elected most popular student in the class any year soon.

Ash's head leaned close to the surface of his desk; a scowl was in the beginning stage of forming. For once, it wasn't because of Misty; it was courtesy of his girlfriend.

The word was spat bitterly in his mind; he cared for Angie as a friend, but his heart cared more than necessary and accepted a role he didn't want. The next stop his train of thought featured the agonizing reminder that his date was on Friday. Wonderful, two days before his blackmailed sentence was to be completed.

And after knowing Angie for two years, Ash knew the girl had more tricks up her sleeve that would force him to agree to more dates. His conscience drowned him with chastises, and Ash wasn't being sincere to who he was and what he wanted.

But he was not society's typical viewpoint of selfish; to do what he wants at the expense of others could be shrugged off as selfish, despite it being with a nice reasonable answer. He paused for a moment mentally.

It wasn't because he was a selfish kid; it was because Ash was too selfless, he didn't want to hurt anyone's delicate feelings. He glared with apparent annoyance at how illegible his writing had turned out to be as he suffocated himself with numerous thoughts.

"I'll certainly take note of your suggestions," The teacher replied. "But to the dismay of some of you; this is not a field trip, but rather..a partnership assignment."

"That works too!" Angie's eyes seemed rather groggy at the slip of the word partner. Ash sophisticated his posture and paid closer attention to the details; the whole world knew whom Angie wanted to spend more time with while working on a long-term assignment. However, deep inside he secretly didn't want to; not because he despised her, but more along the lines of, _'I won't get any work done.'_

Misty fought up temptations to shriek; the assignment wouldn't have been as horrendous as it was if it weren't for a small, simple fact: Misty disliked her whole English class —to be more informative— ninety-nine percent. The other one percent of the sixteen student class was everyone whom she didn't know or didn't mind. Unfortunately, the only one she somewhat knew and didn't mind (depending on mood and times) was Ash, and she had the most legitimate assumption that Angie would go hunting for her flesh if he and she worked together.

"Assigned partners," After Mr. Brown announced the news, groans flied from every corner of the wall.

The only thing that diminished, however, was her being one of the last to pick. She clenched her fist; she hated that feeling. To be the last one standing while other students have found their partner is a little hurtful and embarrassing. Friends went with friends, the popular girls and boys had crowds of people asking —while those left off stayed motionless while everyone quickly assembled with their partner.

The teacher handed out pictures, Misty received one of an odd looking mouse; yellow in color with a lighting shaped tail? Odd shape but alright, the style it was drawn in was clearly anime, and the mouse's ears were perky; it was shorter than other mice she had seen, but also taller than most.

"Behind your picture is a number, each of these photographs are completely unrelated, the numbers are grouped at random,"

Misty's number was sixteen, the number made sense as her name was, if not last, close to the end of the class list.

"Two and six," Mr. Brown announced. "Three and five, two and six, eight and ten, four and seven, nine and eleven, twelve and fifteen, thirteen and fourteen, one and sixteen,"

Misty saw the traces of Angie's number -six. Relief spread through her body like a virus.

"Are you number two?" asked Angie, her eyelashes fluttered when Ash looked up to meet her eyes.

"No," Ash replied as he was exiting his seat.

"Aw!" Angie screeched. Misty rolled her eyes, wishing for the ability to read minds so she could have covered her ears from the horrific noise.

The redhead knew it was only one project; if you were not partnered with the person you want, then suck it up. On the contrary, she sounded hypocritical herself because if she shared the class with Drew and Dawn, she might be slightly upset with the partnering arrangements if the one of the two was not with her.

But the reasons were because of how easy it is; they live in the same house for God's sake! Angie and Ash didn't, and Misty wasn't sure if his girlfriend lived close by or not.

Her eyes brightened as it grew larger; that little voice inside your head spitted the world girlfriend out so… bitterly, like a cursing, or a swear.

She sounded so tempered…

It was as if she sounded jealous.

No, she mentally denied it. Misty couldn't care less who dated whom; but deep-down she felt empathy for Ash. Angie gave the impression of an individual you would hope to avoid as much as possible. Ash was friendly, usually, while Angie was a stuck-up little—

"Has everyone located their partners?"

Misty realized she had dazed off and had dropped her attention; it was an unlikely thing for Misty to do.

"Whoever hasn't, raise your hand," called Mr. Brown.

Misty's hand struck into the air like a soon-to-illuminate-the-sky firework, unfired and still raw.

"There you go," Was all the teacher said.

Twisting her head, Misty noticed the second student with her —his hand up. Brown eyes met Turquoise.

Her partner was Ash.

* * *

><p>"That can't work!" Angie cried out. "Misty would start fights with Ash and they would get nothing done! Switch them; she's a public nuisance!"<p>

"They both have been displaying average control over themselves the following weeks. I believe they can cooperate together and finish the project," said Richard Brown while shifting paperwork into place

"I'm the public nuisance?" Misty rolled her eyes as Angie continued to protest her case.

"But why risk it? This requires them to meet up out of school with no authority! Misty could—"

"I'll just ask Drew, Dawn, or Brock to come along if you're so worried about your little boyfriend obtaining a paper cut. Don't worry, honey; whether it's one hundred degrees or sixty-five he won't touch any paper without mittens," Misty replied scathingly.

When Misty started, she kept on continuing; people have said she had the charisma of a lawyer. She was persistent; she needed to be —without it many of the individuals she had encountered wouldn't know right from wrong.

The ignorance of others bothered her the most; Angie couldn't exactly classify as ignorant…well, she debated that for a couple of seconds. No, was her conclusion —she just pissed Misty off.

"That's not what I mean!" snapped Angie, she histrionically extended her neck and craned her nose farther away from Misty.

"Shall I place him in an incubator while he's dressed with bubble wrap? I'm not going to commit homicide, if that's what you're concluding. If he's dead how am I supposed to get an 'A'?" Misty smiled sweetly at Angie, patiently awaiting her answer.

"You-You know what I mean!" Angie was speechless, her hands flapped uncontrollably around her area to express her obvious dissentient towards Misty and just about everything at the moment.

"Don't forget the sunscreen too, Misty," Ash playfully reminded.

"You too?" Angie's voice cracked while her eyes twitched.

Ash's irises slid to Angie's side, then Misty's, "I don't mind working with her, it's just a project, Angie. You're my girlfriend, not my mom; as sweet as your concerns are you don't need to worry. Besides, if Misty tried to stir trouble we all know who would win,"

"Me," Misty commented nonchalantly; she smirked to cover her bursting happiness. Hell, the last sentence didn't matter—Ash had told her off and said he didn't mind working with her!

"What the Hell?" Misty whispered, her eyes widened and she quickly buried her head away from anyone. She sounded like a fangirl; why should she give a damn if Ash didn't mind working with her. She didn't care, he didn't care—God forbid the squealing thoughts were due to her happiness.

"Sure, of course Mist—Misty,"

* * *

><p>Most people wouldn't bother with pondering on a slip-of-the-tongue; but Ash proved himself to be below normalcy... as Paul loved to say.<p>

Mist was her nickname; her close friends or people she didn't dislike called her that. He wasn't close to her and Ash knew they sparingly got along—a few moments they had understood one another, but for the most part... there's usually an average of one fight per day.

To him—she was Misty, or shouldn't be referred to as a name at all.

_Paul, what do I do?_ Oddly enough, Ash turned to Paul for nearly all his problems—this called for a Paul job.

Except that Paul wasn't in his class, which sucked. Remembering a little technique he had seen numerous times on television; he began to imagine what Paul would say and do:

"Idiot, she doesn't care, does she? You give a damn because your relationship with her is fragile and you secretly desire something else blossoming from it."

He jerked in his seat; a few people noticed but shrugged it off—he thought—no it was Paul, Paul was the one who said it; Theoretically speaking. Ash was trying to picture what advice the ever-so-mighty Paul would bestow him with; it was not Ash thinking—it was Paul.

Ash quickly shook his head; it wasn't hard for someone to fall in love with Misty anyways. She was unlike other girls; outspoken and opinionated —sassy, sarcastic, and other characteristics mixed in with a certain mystery. He wouldn't lie; she was beautiful with an orange-red haired shade that worked. Her eyes were especially astonishing; especially when she's mad—

"You are a horrible liar, please, just get out of my sight and straighten your priorities —I'm trying to read a book."

The Paul in his head dryly insulted him; and once again, it was Ash imagining Paul's thoughts, not his own subconscious feelings.

A stack of papers explaining the assignment were being passed around.

Ash grinned; he glanced over at Misty and was glad that of all the people—he was going to be with her.

* * *

><p>"You could eat that," said Dawn.<p>

Misty had been looking temptingly at a bowl of red jello; she knew that adding an extra fifty cents today would eventually become a habit, and then, she would have wasted a hundred dollars that could have been spent on something else instead of getting an extra desert.

"Fifty cents today would mean fifty cents tomorrow, then all the other days when I don't bring a home lunch. And by my calculations, I would have blown a hundred dollars for a sugary desert by the end of the year! I really should bring a home lunch, but it's a burden to carry around, especially with the short amount of time we have to get to class," Misty sighed before walking to the cash register to pay for her lunch.

Dawn rolled her eyes before giggling, "Paper bags are disposable," She cupped her hands over her lips and loudly pointed out; Misty's peculiar logic was running through her best friend's brain. The logic contrasted Dawn's logic —if you like it, get it, but try to control yourself too. Misty's was better defined as, "overthink everything, whether it's a small or big problem." A kid behind her complained that she was holding up the line, she was flustered from embarrassment and quickly apologized before jogging behind Misty's footsteps. The two girls set their trays on the vacant counter before leaning against it and doing as normal high school friends did—talk.

"Those things can break, I don't trust them. And don't suggest plastic bags, when I was in kindergarten that thing decided to break and ruin my Hello Kitty bag," Misty felt the embarrassment come back; the kids laughed while the teacher lectured her about how heavy the food was for the bag and without the support of fabric-made containers, it was easily cut open and spilled.

"You had a Hello Kitty bag? Lucky," Dawn gushed as she searched through her wallet. The old thing was tattering; but she loved it, it had sentimental value to her. She decided that over the weekend she'd fix it up; it was just too special for her to replace, her Sobo had given it to her. While her grandmother was still alive; she has had depressing thoughts about the day she did— Dawn wasn't in the mood for a swing from a creative and ambitious feeling to one that's overly emotional. Story cut short, she loved her grandma and it was one of the only things she could have brought from home. When Ursula stole it, she was secretly upset about that too, but Dawn knew she was sixteen, and showing child-like emotions was an unwritten no-no for teens her age.

"I was young, what do you expect?" Noticing Dawn's wallet, Misty began to remember an event from last week, "I hope you aren't spending all that money at once,"

The bluenette shook her head, "Not all at once, but the guy gave me like five hundred dollars' worth of cash. I feel a little guilty, it could have been an accident, but it seems like a sincere event. Five hundred dollars, Misty: Am I supposed to let it collect dust in my room?"

"Pretty sure dollars can't collect dust," Misty's turquoise eyes lifted up and immediately beamed.

"You know what I mean," Dawn lightly hit her friend's shoulder. It wasn't Misty's fault she had to be literal; it was due to study habits picked up that gifted her knowledge. Oh, and it was the result of absolutely adoring the feeling of being right.

"Money," The cafeteria lady grumbled sourly. Not much was known about her; the elderly woman had worked in the school for maybe twenty years and was bitter—unless it was an athlete (with the exception of swimmers and less-popular sports), she immediately brightened when they came and the students fulfill their stereotype by kissing ass.

"Dawn, go first," Misty shifted behind the bluenette and stuffed her wallet back into her small, blue and black, bag. Unsure of the exact name, she referred to it as her long carry-on bag.

"Did you realize you could get a better deal if you bought something else?" Dawn raised an eyebrow; through the years spent together she had picked up Misty's speech and the meanings to her action. Frankly, it was a bit scary how she had analyzed and interpreted the redhead —Dawn admitted to writing down a few notes to assist herself in the mission.

"No," Misty denied.

"Lying voice, lying actions, I can feel your heart pulse increase just by looking at you, honey," Dawn smirked and handed her money to the bitter lunch lady, who snatched it roughly.

"Okay, fine, getting the pasta may be the same price as getting a salad—but it isn't. Salad is healthier, and will make me generally fuller. It also has more pieces than the pasta, about three hundred more! Salad with light dressing can be tastier than greasy pasta too—" Misty reasoned out.

"Either way it'll be fine," Dawn assured, "Let's just take the pasta and pay the nice lady for—"

"And this milk really is a one-time deal; it's like eight ounces and you can't go up to a water fountain to refill. The water is not only cheaper, but more storage for the liquid!"

"Okay we can switch the two—" Dawn was cut off as Misty prattled on.

"But what if I cut out the water? I could go up to a water fountain—"

"Most kids worry about their hair or make-up; this one here is worried about economics. Decide and get out, you're holding up the line," The woman rolled her eyes before returning them to the glaring position.

"Okay I'll take the salad and skip the water," Misty decided, she grabbed her tray to notice only a single plate of salad remained with the utensils and napkins. She swiveled her attention to Dawn; whose lips extended into a shy smile.

"I figured," The bluenette winked, stepping out of the line to wait for her friend to pay.

Misty picked her wallet out of her packet and carefully opened it up to extract a neat and still crisp five dollar bill. The woman returned her change-two dollars and fifty cents. Misty grabbed her tray to finally eat lunch; she swore she'd never buy one from the cafeteria again: it was too expensive.

"Please tell me you aren't thinking about what you could do if you stopped buying cafeteria lunch; it's your free time, use it instead of inventing Algebra problems," Dawn advised, they both settled with a small table farther off than the other ones. The two girls both agreed with liking the isolation feel; it was a nice privacy.

"It sure helped take my mind off writing a skit," Misty stabbed her fork a little deeper into the lettuce.

"Skit?" asked Dawn, her mouth half full. She finished chewing, then swallowed before she looked at Misty, head cocked to the side, asking a million questions voicelessly.

"English," Misty explained; answering the first mental question.

"Don't you dislike everyone there? And they dislike you too?" Dawn reminded, she finished her pasta and grabbed her bottle of milk.

"Yes. I was partnered with Ash; guess it can't be that bad," Misty said optimistically. Though she had no preference for English, as it was one of her least favorite classes; but there could have been worse things happening; at least Mr. Brown was fair. _At the least,_ she repeated in her head. And like one of Dawn's numerous mottos said, "Think positively!" Her friend's cheery voice rang through her head.

"What's the prompt?" questioned Dawn.

"I haven't read it yet, we got it at the end of class so I neatly stuffed it into my folder," She emphasized the word neatly because she was, well, a bit of a neat freak. Though her friends may argue and claim she was germophobic —it wasn't that exaggerated. She just got a little upset and cringed when a teacher forgets to erase a little whiteboard mark, or if something is slightly tilting the wrong way, or if there's a speckle of dust she might grab wet wipe and sanitize the whole thing to the point where the point-one in ninety-nine point-one is nonexistant—but nothing too drastic.

"Let me see!" Dawn cheered, "I miss acting classes; best elective next to psychology!"

Misty dropped her blue folder on the table; she opened it and scuffled through the pristine pages, "Here," She carefully slid a packet out of the right pocket; Dawn snatched it out of her hands, wanting to see what the theme was.

"Oh, Jesus," Dawn threw the packet on top of the folder and began to chuckle. "I can't, I honestly can't even —oh God, I totally have to help! He is so coming to our house to work on it. And I'll be there! I'll have a cam—"

"Are you high or something? God, Dawn, I don't see why you're—what the Hell?!" In the description; three simple words caused Misty to hope this was a horrible dream —they couldn't, she didn't want an 'F' but she valued life too. However, this was because Ash was her partner —and she minded this.

The prompt was a romantic tragedy, and Dawn's "Think positive" motto was clearly fading in her head, being replaced with:

"Damn it."

* * *

><p>May's day had been splendid, and unlike others who would mouth the word, she did not have any sarcastic intent: her day was fantastic.<p>

Nothing made a student feel better than to receive an 'A' on a test or quiz; or to have close to little homework, or….

To suddenly receive a rose the second you enter the school doors.

May's back was aching, courtesy of the studying she had done the previous evening. Drew was leaning against a wall and casually threw her a yellow rose with red tips. It was sudden, but landed gracefully on her right shoulder. May started to twist her lock around till the occasionally-frustrating locker opened; the rose was taped to an area guaranteed to ensure it wasn't squished by any of her books or notebooks.

After taking a moment to admire the beautiful rose, May gathered her materials for the next classes and softly closed her locker.

She walked, unfocused and unaware of the majority of her surroundings, along the edges by the right section of lockers.

Without warning, she collided chest-first with a student; it took May a few minutes to notice that she was laying on the cold floor and the other one with whom she collided with was too, trying to gather all the lost pieces.

"Oh goodness, I'm so sorry! I didn't notice I'm really sor-," The other student stood at or shorter than May. She merely smiled as May explained the situation:

"It's okay," The girl responded.

She was innocent-looking with just slightly falling from shoulders red hair; but not the type like Misty's—a more crimson shade. Her mint-colored eyes glowed as her mouth quirked into a sweet smile.

"I'm really sorry," This instance was one of those days when a person would want to crawl up into a ball, hide in fear, and die. May had that feeling, and she felt her face flustering with embarrassment.

"It's okay! It happens, and it's my fault too. It takes two to crash, doesn't it?"

The girl laughed as May embarrassingly nodded her head; after gripping and reorganizing the loose papers and other school items, May neatly stacked them together. She handed the girl the dropped supplies, "I really am—"

"Sorry? It's alright, I don't hold grudges," Another one of her wide-grinned smiles came about.

"Sorry—I mean, I tend to apologize a lot, but I feel bad. I'm May Maple, junior," May extended her arm out.

"Oh nice to meet you," she shook hands with May, following the polite greeting ethic "Do you have lunch about now?" she asked, her head cocked to the side

"Yes, actually I do," May replied.

The girl winked, "Me too then, shall we go together?" Her eyes looked pleading, as if a 'no' would cause tears to spill out.

"Of course!" May grinned, "Feel free to,"

"Wonderful!" the girl said, "You can call me Anna; I'm a junior too."

* * *

><p><strong>This feels so short<strong>**;**** I'm used to writing about 3,000+ more words lol. But, as busy high school is, I have sucked finding time. This is part 1..it's also sorta a filler. Next chapter will be the second part. I was going to do all of the events in chapter 12..but it would have been: 9,000 words, 28 pages—so yay for me writing a short chapter and getting it in not as late as it could have been.**

**Question, other than the obvious, (Paul, Reggie, Dawn)**

**Who do you think will know who "M.W", "Cinderella Man", Prince Charming", and Dawn (nickname less, lol) really are next? And if they don't already know about the situation... Who will know?**

**Drew**

**Ash**

**May**

**Angie**

**Leaf**

**Misty**

**Ursula**

**Anyone who gets it right will get a preview for it sent via PM. I won't say when it'll be yet but soon. I think you all will know in chapter 14-16. And right after I post the chapter before the answer is revealed; I'll write the next part immediately after and PM it.**


	13. Problem with lying: The truth comes out

**I'm slowly adding my stories onto tumblr..I know it shouldn't be "slowly" since I'm copying and pasting but I've been SOO busy**

**(You'll see what I mean later XD**

**Sorry again for long wait, I've been unbelievably busy but trust me I try and work as much as I can when I get the time:]**

**Thanks to Hoenn_Master96 for the editing help:)**

**I hope you all like this chapter:) Longest I've ever written.**

* * *

><p>"What the Hell are you doing here?!" Misty whispered loudly.<p>

"What am I doing here, what are you doing here?!" said Ash.

"Ow!" exclaimed Drew, who had accidentally hit his head against the bottom of the desk.

"Oh my God," screeched May. "Drew, Misty, Dawn?"

"You would think there'd be more people with common sense here, but I guess I'm the only one," Dawn said sarcastically as she appeared disappointed in both Ash and May.

Ash took a seat on the black, leather chair, noticing it was on wheels he spun around childishly.

"If you aren't going to do anything get out! I need to do something," commanded Misty.

"I need to do something too," Ash remarked

"Get out," Misty gave Ash's shoulder a small nudge.

"I know what to do,"

"You don't!" said Misty.

Drew brought his finger to his lip, "Sssh, keep it down."

_Chapter 13:_

_Part 2- Earlier that day…_

"I can't do this!"

"It's just acting!"

"I wouldn't mind if it was anyone else! I'm going to get murdered by his vicious, obsessive, and quite annoying girlfriend!" Misty practically shouted.

A few heads turned to listen and see what the commotion was about. Ignoring the looks from eavesdroppers, both wordlessly told the other to lower their tone of voice.

"That's a lot of adjectives for someone you don't know very well," Dawn pointed out in a much more quiet tone of choice.

Misty groaned, "I know her well enough to say all those things,"

"Is she that bad?" asked Dawn. Misty nodded faster than an Olympian.

"Annoying too, I only have that class with her… Thank God," Misty spat whilst crossing her arms. She cringed—again—as she saw the words typed in Times New Roman, twelve size font, and marked on her paper—for her.

"You know, things happen for a reason—"

"I should've repented for my sins last Sunday," Misty interrupted before Dawn could finish.

"I didn't mean happenings for that reason, silly Misty. Maybe an outer-spiritual force wants you and Ash to be friends and stop the roman—tension," Dawn bit her lip nervously before smiling quite unsurely.

"You and Drew are so funny," Misty said sarcastically.

"Slip-of-my-tongue, I swear and if I dare lie then I'll run into bad luck with no way out soon," Dawn placed her right hand on her heart, her left rose and slid to her head. *

"Don't make pledges you can't keep," Misty advised.

"But come on, all the books I've actually finished—"

"What happens in them?" Misty raised an eyebrow; she sat quietly, awaiting her friend's answer.

"There's a girl, pretty, but tough. Maybe a bit malevolent towards people she despises. Well, maybe not a little—"

"Keep going, Berlitz," Misty reminded, stopping Dawn's train of thought.

"Oh, yeah!" Dawn's eyes shot up, prepared to get back on track. "There's a boy. Some could say handsome; much weaker than the girl. Well in this case—I mean, um well you see, the girl is stronger than the guy. The boy can be sort of annoying too, oh and maybe teasing. He and the girl can't stand each other! But in theend… They… Sometimes… Well, not sometimes; mostly—"

"Fall in love and ride into the sunset?" Misty answered for her.

"Minus the riding off into the sunset part," Dawn swallowed a lump in her throat while Misty roughly dropped her head on the table.

She lifted herself off and flipped her bangs from her eyes, "Dawn," she cooed gently. "Love for me is on a seemingly permanent hiatus,"

"What?" Dawn's jaws dropped. She covered her mouth with a palm, never—in the history of their friendship—had Misty said something like that. Especially on terms of quitting, Misty wasn't a quitter.

"I'm going to be single, and happy. But right now, I don't want Angie to try and do something. I'm not afraid, but I know her type. This assignment, no matter how we twist it, there's going to be some sort of romantic element, if it was anyone else but Ketchum than I couldn't care less," Misty admitted.

"Choose words carefully. It's not that you've given up; it's just not your first concern. It's not even my first concern, maybe I've had crushes here and there but I'm only sixteen. Sixteen is way too young for a serious boyfriend in my opinion," said Dawn.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't care about it anymore, but I highly doubt I'll actually fall into it. There's a difference between loving someone and lusting after slash really liking someone," Misty rested her head on her arm and circled her fork around the bowl lazily.

"Still thinking of what you're going to do to change the assignment or person?" Dawn cocked her head to the side, leveling in height with Misty—who was currently resting on her arm.

"Yes,"

"I think you have to go with it. I mean if you are able to switch it would be with someone you don't like. I have some ideas with how we can make it as unromantic as possible," Dawn shrugged hopefully with the idea.

"You're right—"

"Unromantic as possible?" Drew threw his lunch bag on the table and sat down, "What happened?" His eyes averted, reading the packet.

"I'll have to work with Ash for that," Misty answered before he could ask.

"You're screwed," Was all Drew said.

Dawn rolled her eyes, her arms pounded against the table instead of lying on the elbows calmly like they originally were, "You're not helping!" she snapped, the volume of her voice wasn't much more than a whisper.

"But it's true,"

"He's right, I am screwed," Misty sighed as she craned a tomato to her mouth, slowly chewing it. Drew and Dawn both knew she was dwelling on what to do.

"We spent a nice amount of discussion time talking about how it will be okay. And look how depressed she looks now," Dawn's palm-up hands flew out in front of her.

"Maybe we can't change partners even though Ash and Misty have a lot of personal issues between each other. Maybe, just maybe—we can change the theme," Drew placed his thumb on his chin. Both girls curiously leaned forward, ready to listen to his plan.

"Wait," Misty placed a finger by a sentence that unfortunately said, 'no changes in any area.'

"That wasn't what I was thinking," Drew assured, he smirked, the idea, whatever it was, looked possible in Drew's mind.

"Then what?" asked Dawn.

"I see Mister Brown every day; he keeps notes in a blinder and on his computer. I think, after school, we go into his office and change the prompt. I always see him leave for like fifteen or twenty minutes before coming back," Drew explained.

"That's—"

"Brilliant!" Misty grinned; she seemed livelier after hearing Drew's idea.

"Horrible," said Dawn. "That's a giant risk! It's much safer to just stay with Ash and—"

"It's the only way," Drew remarked.

"And I'm in," Misty added quickly

"You know it's bad if I'm seeing the reckless cause. I'm practically being some sort of voice-of-reason, you can't—it's reckless!" Dawn's arms flapped around histrionically once again.

"You don't need to come," said Drew, he flipped his bangs off his eyes.

"Hmm?!" Dawn muttered. "Who else is going to make sure you both don't mess up? Me! I have to, for all of your lives,"

"Thanks Dawn," The two said together.

"No welcomes," Dawn spat.

"So, how does this plan work again?" asked Misty.

Drew smirked, "Easy," And he began to explain…

* * *

><p>"Ash," said Angie. She kissed his cheek swiftly, "I've missed you."<p>

He didn't react; Ash's heart beat stayed the same, his face felt like someone casually brushed against his skin. Nothing more, nothing like the movies said. Ash smiled, his grin was forced yet polite. "Nice to see you,"

Angie laid her head on his shoulder; she grabbed his arms and kept it there as they both walked to the table. "I wish we could work together in English."

"That would be fun," Ash answered nonchalantly.

"You're both annoying," said Paul, who got up and sat by himself at another table.

"Paul…" said Ash, noticing his girlfriend's saddened look.

"He hates me. Why?! Who could hate me?!" asked Angie. She tapped her foot impatiently, as if Ash's answer determined the fate of the world.

Which, in technical terms, it did: His own world.

"Well, some people have opinions, they don't hate you—"

"So I'm dislikable?" Angie yelled.

"Some people dislike me too, it's normal. We all—"

"Smooth, Ashy-Boy,"

Ash's eye twitched; there were two people who mainly referred to him as, "Ashy-Boy". First, was his favoriteformer-definitely-never-again best friend Gary Oak. This particular voice, however, belonged to a girl. Unless Gary had gotten a sex change, it was not him.

The second was a friend of his, a senior. She had long, aquamarine colored hair tied up into two high pigtails. Duplica DeImite was her name, and a fitting label it was! She was talented in impersonating others, in fact, she could copy a person's signature just be looking at it. Duplica spent her time reading magic books, watching ghost movies, and occasionally spying. But Ash had a feeling she practiced impersonation at home as well; nonetheless, while she appears creepy, she is, in fact, normal.

"Duplica, please don't call me that," Ash muttered as she smirked.

"Aw, come on Ashy-boy, it fits. Lighten up, will ya?" She winked as Ash, who replied by rolling his eyes.

"Come on Duplica, please don't harass him. He's been having a rough day," Angie said with a tone that was meant for a mother's.

Duplia plastered a dirty look on her face, lips pouted with eyebrows dipping down on one end like a stick with fire on top. Her nose craned up, snob like as some may say, but it appeared that was her intent, and her whole head slid the other way. "Hmph," she bitterly grumbled.

"Please, not right now," Ash practically begged.

"Sorry, Ash," said Angie sympathetically, "After what happened I was trying to be the bigger person. I know, it's tough with someone wanting to ruin you,"

Duplica turned her attention back to Ash's direction, "Who? What? When?"

Angie chuckled and then slapped her fingers against the wind, "No one, just a bitch."

Duplica cocked her head to the side innocently, her eyebrows lifted as she sweetly smiled. "I thought we were talking about the other person who ruined Ash's day, not you."

Ash's jaw dropped, "Duplica!"

"Did I say that out loud? Oh, sorry," Duplica 'apologized'.

Angie grinned, "It's okay, really. I want to be the bigger person so I'll forgive you,"

"Hmph," Duplica muttered, pursuing her lip.

"Cleared my mind from thinking about that… Girl,"

"What's her name? How do you expect me to know who in Hell you are talking about?" Duplica sassed.

"Misty—"

"What's wrong with her?" asked Duplica.

"Nothing," Ash interjected immediately before he realized what he had just said. He felt something heat up, Duplica smirked while Angie looked like someone had insulted her. "She's... Easily angered but she's nice, sometimes."

"I'll take that for now," said Duplica.

"I can't believe you defended her so easily," said Angie, in a tone that showed no anger but rather, hurt?

"Just slipped out, okay? I do lo-not love her, like her, or really know her; she's just a classmate,"

Duplica looked sympathetically at his direction; it was as if she was trying to tell him something without using her voice, something. Ash assumed it was among the lines of, "your girlfriend's a bitch."

Ash knows Angie can be rude, but if someone really got to know her, she wasn't bad. Insecure; she was insecure and easily jealous; she had her own reasons to be. What bothered Ash was her clingy-ness, and while the word love was a stretch he cared for her.

"I feel so bad for you, having to be with her," Angie sighed. "Why ruin a lunch talking about her though, hmm?"

* * *

><p>"This is my new friend, her name's Ana!" May pointed at a maroon haired girl standing shyly next to her.<p>

The girl smiled and waved timidly.

"I'm Ash Ketchum, this is my friend—"

"Girlfriend, I'm his girlfriend," Angie corrected, gushing at the thought.

Ash continued on, "Angie Garcia, the girl with the pigtails is Duplica DeImite, the guy sitting by himself over there is named Paul, the blonde guy coming over here is Barry, and the guy next to me, who is always on his iPhone, is Ritchie."

"Whoa, nice little group you have here, hmm?" asked Ana.

"Not really," Ash chuckled.

"Take a seat!" said May, directing her towards an open spot.

"Thank you!" Ana smiled and sat down.

But smiles are like a spider web, trapping and hiding.

* * *

><p>Leaf bothered to take one last look at her failed Math test before she nonchalantly shrugged and crushed the paper with her bare hands. She closed an eye after spotting a garbage can close by and angled her point of view before shooting.<p>

"Ow!" A maroon haired girl screeched—as Leaf thought—far too overdramatically.

She would've casually ignored the annoying kid if said girl hadn't swiveled to meet her eyes.

Her jaw dropped, and if she had been drinking her can of Mountain Dew she had no doubt in her mind she would've spit the thing out without a moment's notice.

_Flashback:_

_"That girl, ugh!" said Dawn as she along with Misty and Leaf gathered together to "discuss" a project._

_"Now, what the Hell does she look like?" asked Leaf, "I've heard so much about her but never exactly had a picture in my mind, tell me so if I see her I can kick her as—I mean, get away from her," She smiled, innocently._

_"Don't get yourself in trouble!" said Misty, jokingly slapping Leaf._

_"She has maroon hair, or crimson…deep dark red, __sorta'__ purple? I'__ve__ never been in an Honors English class, don't judge my horrible color comparison or similes, or__-__" Dawn tapped on her temples as she tried to recall the proper name._

_"Technically it's an epithet if used to refer to Brianna. Similes, no, metaphors, don't think so. On its own no common proper name except for it being an adjective; anyways, best way to describe her is actually what Dawn said about hair in a nutshell. She has turquoise eyes that lean more towards the gray side, she's pale, and her bangs split while her hair lightly touches her shoulders. She's also short, like maybe __five three? __Taller than Dawn—"_

_"I'll grow still!" Dawn suddenly burst out, albeit slightly loud._

_A few heads maneuvered to look, some confusingly blinked…_

_Leaf groaned, rolling her eyes at everyone, "Leave us alone, will ya?"_

_That was she; that was the girl that she remembered hearing about and spying on one occasion. And close to her was a face she had seen before, though the face hadn't seen her for ages._

_He cocked his head to the side, his eyebrows arched upwards. He was trying to figure out where he'd seen her before, or perhaps trying to remember her name._

Damage control needed to go into action as soon as possible. Whatever drama lesson she'd learned—she did exceptionally well with a 'B' in the class last year—had activated.

She smiled shyly; her eyes sparkled along with the apologetic demeanor, "I am so sorry! I was trying to aim at the basket and I guess my aim was off,"

"Oh, it's fine! I can tell you didn't mean it," said a face Leaf had known but like the first face, the second didn't reciprocate that knowledge, Ash and May didn't know who the girl standing in front of them was at all…

May was so kind, likable. She was sincere, loyal, and wasn't plastic, but despite all those positive qualities, Leaf couldn't stand her. She pondered about what she really felt: Possibly envious? She admitted her more positive opinion was probably the result of what Dawn had told her, but even through the simplest smile, the patient gesture of hands, Leaf could practically see it.

On the other hand, Brianna had a more different approach.

"It's okay," she said flatly. Any soul with a good amount of common sense could tell her words slipped out insincerely.

Leaf turned away, and began to walk towards where she was sitting when May called out to her.

"Do you want to come with us too? I didn't notice you were sitting alone, sorry," May apologized, though it wasn't needed.

Her mouth opened to tell them 'no', but her mind pestered her to remember her act. It would be disrespectful to deny that, wouldn't it? "I'd love too," she answered as excited as she could fake.

She grabbed her can of Mountain Dew and placed it on her tray directly next to her pasta salad.

She walked slowly, noticing everyone was staring. She hated those moments, when all eyes turned to you. She placed the tray down awkwardly before sliding next to May, who was becoming too sweet in her mind to truly dislike. In fact, she was slowly starting to feel a little guilty.

She looked up, Ash was trying to decipher where he'd seen her before, Leaf knew for sure, she could basically read his mind.

May picked up the crumpled piece of paper off the floor, Leaf's eyes widened, hoping the brunette wouldn't open it up and see the name. Her heart beat a little faster, but relaxed as May threw it in the recycling bin for her. It was just because she was closer, Leaf thought bitterly, referring to May making it while Leaf had previously missed the shot.

"What's your name?" asked a girl with blue hair, Duplica, wasn't it?

Leaf hesitated briefly, her full first name was actually Lila but she had a hunch Ash would remember that, her last name was Green, the name itself would be some sort of enzyme and trigger Ash's memories.

"Leah Walkersky," she said quickly.

She wanted to smack herself across the forehead; her hand was clenched to relieve the anger.

She had meant to say Leah Gren, a small acronym of her real name. But instead, she referenced herself to a science fictional character, albeit switching the two parts of the compound-letter last name.

_I feel smart_, the word echoed sarcastically in her head. Her self-esteem relaxed again, science was never her best subject. That is part of science, isn't it? She scratched her head and wondered more about it before dismissing the thought.

"A friend of mine used to do that a lot," Ash said through the others' giggles.

Leaf's ears perked up, "Oh," she giggled shyly behind her hand. The act was classic; shy and oblivious little high school girl. She locked up her tongue between her teeth because the temptation to say, "No matter how many A's you get, you're still the same dense Ash," was high.

"She looked a lot like you too,"

"Ash, don't freak her out," said May, half-jokingly.

"Oh, it's fine!" Leaf said, pitching her voice so the fear wouldn't creep out. May noticed Leaf's clenched fist, the blue-eyed girl stretched Leaf's fingers out and placed a green apple in the grasp.

Leaf jumped a little, "Er… Thank you: An apple?"

_Since w__hen was opening up someone's hands and placing an apple inside normal?!_ Leaf thought to herself.

"You look stressed! When I'm stressed I hold onto an apple," May told her with that same, natural smile.

She gets stressed too?! Wow, Leaf was dumbfounded at that confession.

"Where are you from?" asked Ash, who still appeared to recognize her and was continuing his efforts in remembering.

"Excuse me?!" Leaf said a little louder.

Angie wrapped her arms around Ash. "Honey, what's wrong?"

_Gag me with a spoon, on second thought I'll gag myself with this apple_, Leaf placed the apple in front of her mouth to the hide the fact that she was sticking out her tongue at the disgustingly "sweet" scene.

"Nothing, uh sweetie,"

"Gross isn't it?" whispered Duplica in Leaf's ears.

"N-No," Leaf looked to see Duplica seated on the other side of her.

"Really? You know sweetie, I'll always remember that face that screamed at that pathetic and unfair history teacher, got her a detention but she was the only one with guts," Duplica said in a lower voice and smirk towards Leaf

"He was, as you said, unfair and unjust. I did what I did with just cause," Leaf told Duplica, who responded by placing an arm around Leaf's neck.

If her act wasn't on, Leaf would have surely punched her. _Damn, never mind—I didn't get a detention __yet! Wait__… I did, only one! Still, lowest ever._

"I would believe you, but you haven't thrown a chair at Ash's direction so I can't trust that you're not bothered by anything. You are, I'm on to you, kid," Duplica told her.

"Bathroom: Now," Leaf said straight-forwardly, she stood up with annoyance and walked out, Duplica followed.

"We'll be back~" called out Duplica to May, who at the time was the only one noticing they left.

* * *

><p>"Are you sayin' I'm hiding something? You just met me and you're looking for something to gossip and spread about already," Leaf spat.<p>

Duplica's face softened, "Sorry."

Leaf felt a purge of guilt pierce her, she hated that feeling, supposing she had just became too soft. "Just leave me alone alright? I don't need to deal with someone like you,"

"I'm just trying to get them to break-up; anything. Angie's a bitch and basically forced Ash into a relationship, I'm sorry. He's like my brother, and I know he doesn't feel that way about her, _or_ her type," Duplica explained. Her eyes then widened, realizing what she had said, "Not that he has a type! If he does I don't know it yet."

Leaf breathed out through her nose, "He just seems to get attracted to very outspoken people, whether it is romantically or not…"

"Yeah, wait—how did you know that?"

"Seems like the type," Leaf lied quickly.

"Oh yeah he does, I wonder why," Duplica said while tapping her foot to the song playing in the background.

Leaf shrugged before heading back, Duplica could stay there the rest of the time, trying to figure everything out; but Leaf already had the answers. She could wonder about everything, put two and two together, she could analyze everything—Ash's questions, Leaf's knowledge, anything—

But Leaf had a feeling that no matter what, Duplica still wouldn't find be able to figure out the truth.

"Leah, wait!" called out Duplica, "Be lucky you aren't a freshman! If you are I'll stuff you in the garbage can for leaving me!" Leaf chuckled before noticing Duplica's tightly-pinched eyebrows and serious-like eyes.

_She's serious_, Leaf said to herself.

"But that doesn't mean a thing!" cried out May.

"You really are stu—naïve, if you believe him," Brianna spat.

"I do."

"I don't," said Angie, shaking her head, "I don't know what to say. But you heard Brianna; Drew was being hypocritical. He broke up with her over a mistake while he was all over Dawn. May, honey, Brianna forgave him but one slip up she didn't even initiate made Drew break her heart," A fake tear rolled down her cheek.

"What happened here?" asked Duplica, to Ritchie. She growled as he didn't answer and continued to dangle his finger around the iPhone screen, Leaf leaned over to catch a glance at what he was doing.

People and their games, iPhones are the most damn expensive things ever! They should just get an iPod Touch; cheaper and you have texting and calling apps, Leaf rolled her eyes at the kid before noticing the scene unraveling.

"Ana's name is Brianna. Some ex-girlfriend of this guy named Drew, a guy May sort of likes. She explained the deal about him and how he was sneaking around with a girl named Dawn, but Brianna forgave him. There was this guy that kissed Brianna, Drew found out about it and he didn't forgive her," Richie explained, before averting his eyes back to his game. "So much drama," he grumbled.

_That's not true_, thought Leaf, horrified someone would do that. She took that back; Brianna was someone that would deal anything for what she wanted.

The sad thought was Leaf had known Brianna wasn't always like that, someone described her as being such a sweet girl during her younger years, but loneliness enveloped her manners and grew into someone possessive, manipulative, and… Crazy. The mere fact Brianna obviously perused for Drew yet was the one who cheated on him sort of frightened Leaf, who had once accompanied Dawn and Misty to some sort of dance club.

She had no problem wrapping her arms around someone else, all because Drew wasn't ready for the "kissing" and "passion" in a relationship. He didn't know what to do, he didn't want to mess up, no matter what Drew claimed, Leaf and Misty both could tell Drew wasn't ready. He never admitted it, but the idea was evident enough.

And now, his name was being slaughtered due to his first and ex-girlfriend being a total bitch.

"Brianna you're a lying bitch," spoke up Leaf. _Screw the shy girl act, people like her annoy me._

In ways, Brianna reminded her of Gary…and Leaf completely despises him. An inner voice mentioned her own name, Leaf dismissed that thought. Brianna was plain crazy; they were nothing alike.

Brianna's jaw dropped, "Excuse me?!" She sent glaring looks at Leaf, who smiled in response and chuckled sourly, Brianna was making it into some sort of world war.

"And Ash, come on, do you really believe this?"

"Leah, I do—"

"I know Dawn, Misty, and not to leave out, Drew. He's anything but a cheater, but what made me laugh the most was when Brianna mentioned someone initiating that kiss. Dumb bitch makes it seem like she was harassed, when in truth she could be the harasser," Leaf missed cussing, and acting like Leaf. Nothing made her day more than insulting bitches and douchebags.

Brianna might as well have been transparent, because others were starting to see through. Hey, that's a good one.

"Brianna, are you transparent?" asked Leaf, who glared straight at Brianna back with an amused smirk.

"She isn't! What the Hell is your problem Leah?" yelled Angie, whom Leaf had noticed was scratching the table with her fingernails.

Leaf raised her eyebrows, "Really? She isn't?" she cooed sarcastically. "Then why is everyone starting to see through her?"

"Damnnnn," chorused Richie and Duplica in sync.

"I knew Dawn wasn't like that!" Barry exclaimed gleefully.

"You weren't the one doubting her either," May retorted, she pursued her lip as she looked down; from the way she was acting Leaf assumed May was feeling guilty that her kind gesture was causing arguments.

"Don't be guilty for bringing that bitch in. You might as well learn the truth now," Leaf told her.

"Thank you Leah," Was May's simple answer.

"Let me tell you something about Brianna, she was once normal in middle school,"

"What?!" said Ash, his eyes widened when he realized what interpretation others thought of what he said. He covered his mouth; a small blush crept on his face.

"I know, right? It's so embarrassing: I don't even… Whatever. So then in sophomore year, she started going out with Drew, who was and is such a nice guy but then she realized he wasn't going to make out or sleep with her. Anyways, so Brianna was like, weirdly jealous of his best friends. Like once Dawn caught strep throatand he had to miss their date to accompany her to the hospital. And like, whenever he talked to them she'd go all mama bear over him for no damn reason. She'd be like," 'Why are you talking to them'?

"Whoa," murmured May softly.

"Drew didn't need to speak, but I could tell he was thinking something among the lines of, '….Uh, why are you so obsessed with me?'" Leaf snorted as she continued, "So then, we started getting suspicious and one day, Misty, Dawn, and me followed her to this dance club, which had some nasty things goin' on in there," she paused to eye Brianna, who's face had whitened. "Well we saw her wrapping her arms around this guy and shoving her lips on his mouth, so then we told Drew and they went to confirm it."

"Drew went like…" Leaf paused again, just for the satisfaction of seeing the others' split-second reactions. 'Brianna I'm breaking up with you because I think—I mean, I know you're cheating on me'.

"Wow," Ritchie said softly.

"I mean, how would you feel about your girlfriend or boyfriend cheating on you? It's cheating, dishonesty at its worst! I mean, right, she was a cheater! So then Dawn and Misty had some words to say, because I mean—she totally bitched on Drew because he wasn't ready for the passionate and kissing part. It got so messed up and she never talked to him for a while because I guess Dawn sorta' appeared scary. Next time I saw her she was claiming her name was Ana and trying to frame Drew so I guess now she's that same, psychotic, jealous bitch she was when they dated,"

"That's… bullshit," said Brianna.

"That's close, but actually it's _Mean Girls_," Leaf retorted, fully aware of what Brianna truly meant.

"What's that?" asked May, but no one bothered to answer as they all carried on with the small scramble.

"I knew there was something up with you," commented Angie as she slowly grinded her top set of teeth to the bottom.

Berry placed his hands up pleadingly, "Girls, let's not argue."

"Tsk, tsk," Was all Duplica squeaked out as she shook her head with disapproval towards Berry's comments. "When girls fight, either you get thrown in to the ear and hair pulling, or you do the alternative thing: Stay out."

May motioned towards Ritchie, "Is that considered staying out? Or just ignoring the situation?"

"Ignoring the situation," said Duplica swiftly.

"I don't want to get into female gossip," said Ritchie.

"Your intuition was sure as Hell correct, except I don't see why you look like you're going to flip the table this moment…I mean, all I did was tell the truth," Sarcasm dripped off her words as Leaf spoke. She caught Ash's eyes, neutral to the situation—in fact, he wasn't concerned with Brianna but instead with Leaf.

He caught her look and snapped out of the bubble, "Now we know two sides of the story, I can't say what's true because I don't anything well enough—"

"Ana's is true," answered Angie.

"I don't even know any of them, none of us do. None of us can tell, assume, or judge—" (Who is speaking?)

"You don't know any of us well enough, right? Think again, Baseball-hat kid," Leaf interrupted, once again.

A gasp escaped Ash's throat as he dropped his fork on the table, Angie looked at Leaf peculiarly as if she had murdered someone in front of them all.

"H-How?" Ash stuttered.

"You heard me, didn't you? You always hated it when I called you that because you didn't want me to think of you as a little kid," Leaf, for a split second, had come to realize what she had said. She clutched her hands into fist and lightly dug both her thumb nails into her palms.

"L-Leaf!" His eyes widened with realization.

"Leaf?" said May and Angie in unison. May appeared curious while Angie boiled with anger, evident by her scowled look

"Things just got interesting," Duplica whispered with a chuckle.

"I wouldn't lie about this at all, Ash. Misty may not have the best judgment in men, but her judgments for friends are pretty spot on," Leaf said more calmly than before.

Angie hit her arms against the table with anger, "Leaf, Leah—whatever your name is; just get out! You've ruined our lunch enough,"

"She didn't do anything but defend our friends; I consider both Drew and Dawn friends!" said May, rubbing her temples as she spoke out. After looking down for a moment, she gazed back up, "I'm not done yet either! I'm just thinking, because I have a lot to say right now and—"

"May, it's okay," Leaf briefly shook her head and sliced her hand horizontally across the air. She picked up all the things she needed and began to walk away. She threw garbage into their respective places as she continued to heed the exit.

"Leaf, wait!" called out Ash, he was about to run after her until Ritchie placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Ash, I know I haven't said anything," said Ritchie, who felt the need to say that in case someone—specifically Duplica—planned to contradict. "But I listened in too, she needs time, you do too,"

Ash breathed out, "He's right; we all need to calm down,"

"I didn't think things would get so out of hand," Brianna chimed wistfully. "I just wanted to warn May and, well… Someone didn't take it well,"

"Don't involve Leaf into this, please," Ash begged.

"Sorry," muttered Brianna.

"Let's just all say sorry to each other," planned Angie, who looked uncomfortable as Ash said Leaf's name.

"Good idea," said Berry.

"May, I'm sorry for saying everything a little too harshly for you," Brianna "apologized."

"I'm sorry too…" May began. "Sorry that you're bitter and may fool others, but not me," May huffed as she grabbed her bag and swung it on to her back; she walked out, not wanting to be in the presence of Brianna.

"May," Ash, who was still standing up, sat down in defeat.

"She just needs time," said Angie sympathetically. "But she'll accept the truth soon,"

"If that's the truth, I don't want to judge anything," Ash said, reminding everyone.

"You trust that girl though, not Leaf, other girl—don't you?" asked Berry.

"Misty, her name's Misty. I trust her word too, if Brianna is telling the truth then I doubt Misty's involved or knew anything about it," Ash declared.

Angie squeezed the sleeves of her shirt, "You said you didn't want to judge."

"I-I, um let's move on from this and not mention it again," suggested Ash.

"Okay," said Berry. "Let's… Hear a funny story of me and this kid in Physics!"

"Alright," Ritchie said awkwardly.

"I think I'll try and find May, poor girl doesn't need any more drama in her life," Duplica, who was a bit mute some time ago, finally said. "I'm not referring to Leaf, for anyone's information,"

* * *

><p>Leaf stopped crying years ago, if she felt sad she merely converted it into anger. Anger however stayed anger, and at that moment she was angry and kept it as that. She did release it; she was squishing a stress ball in a corner. She twirled it around with her fingers; it was blue with a smiley face…which she never understood. If stress balls were to release stress, why would someone squish a ball with a happy face? To her, it seemed to symbolize being against happiness. Annoyed with that; she decided to use the apple May had given her.<p>

"You know Dawn, and Misty?" a cold, emotionless voice asked.

She looked up to see Paul, who had completely stayed out of everything, or so she thought. Leaf was lying against the wall lazily; she fixed her posture and questioned why he was curious: "Why do you ask? Are you here to bash my friends again, and me?"

"I hate drama with a burning passion, Angie aggravates me, Berry is an odd creature, but May's alright; however, she's sometimes annoying and far too timid. Ash isoccasionally annoying but for the majority of the time—aggravating in a more light way than Angie, Duplica's annoying, and Ritchie is far too preoccupied with technology," Paul crossed his arms, his face seemed to be permanently tied as a scowl that wasn't at all complete without the arching downward eyebrows.

"Why do you want to know?" asked Leaf again, the guy was aggravating her.

"I gave my polite and, generous services when a Disney villain manifested into reality named Ursula stole Dawn's wallet, Drew had come over for May sometimes, and Misty…Ash would rant about her to me but I truly believe he is in the closet about his attraction for her," Paul's tone ruined the potentially humorous explanations he had given.

Leaf wanted to smack herself across the face, which she would have done if Paul wasn't in front of her. It was Paul; he never showed humorous sides and was chillingly serious.

"Dawn Berlitz, Misty Waterflower, and Drew Hayden are three people I don't hate, you might find them annoying and such but you are a different story. I know them, I live in Pallet Town—still do, didn't go to school in that town, though, until middle school. Dawn was in the city I went too, moved halfway through fifth grade. She was originally from Twinleaf in Sinnoh, but her mom moved her to Celadon and then back to Twinleaf. Don't know why, seems fishy to be honest. Misty was from Cerulean in Kanto and one day moved to Twinleaf too, I don't know why but she probably misses Cerulean. Drew was from this LaRousse City in Hoenn and moved to Twinleaf,"

"Fascinating…"

"You know what else is funny? Gary Oak, he lives in Kanto but because his grandfather is someone Oak thinks he's entitled to whatever his grandfather has! He was in Twinleaf this summer where Misty caught him cheating and broke it off. You might not have heard about that, population's big so word can't get around fast and usually only reaches half,"

Paul's eyes widened for a moment, but Leaf had no idea why

* * *

><p>Duplica's arm was wrapped comfortingly around May as they walked to Ash; May's head was titled down as if she were still upset.<p>

"May, are you okay?" asked Ash.

Her head rose up, "Oh, Ash! I'm fine," May said.

"You don't look okay," Ash remarked.

"Just don't let her see Brianna, Angie, and even Blondie—she'll be truly okay when that happens," Duplica half-joked; her watch made an abrupt ringing noise—she brought her wrist closer to her eyes. "Oh I got to go! Bye you two~" she called out as she dashed off.

"I'm sorry May, I didn't know that would happen with everything," Ash sighed. "It was crazy."

"I'll be fine; people like that just... Upset me,"

"I know what you mean," Ash raised his eyebrows.

"Do you believe Leaf's story now?" asked May.

"I…Like I said, I don't want to get involved with what's happening. Gossip isn't good," said Ash.

May merely nodded her head; the two appeared equally distracted with other things in their minds.

"Did you check your prompt yet for the English assignment?" May asked, trying to change the subject.

"Umm…" Ash dropped his backpack and began to scrimmage through the components and materials inside. He began to take out numerous items such as notebooks and some random belongings such as hats.

"You should really organize your bag better," May remarked with a giggle, referring to the pencils and pens scattered, papers crumbled with small tears, and post-it notes loose and hanging around at random areas.

"I'll make it my New Year's Resolution," Ash said as he pulled out a messy packet with the ends flying. He handed it to May before beginning to put everything back.

May place her hands on the front and back of the packet, they slid across trying to smoothen it, once she deemed it 'okay,' she began to read through. "Your prompt is romantic tragedy,"

Ash dropped three textbooks on his foot, "What?! Ow!"

May handed it to Ash and pointed at the line that said it, "Might involve a lot more thinking, but I'm sure you both will do great!"

I wonder what Angie will say about that, thought Ash. "I wish it was something else."

"Are you, Ash Kethcum, afraid of your girlfriend getting jealous?" asked May. "Please tell me you aren't serious," she basically pleaded.

"I don't know if it's well… Appropriate, even if it's just acting," said Ash.

"How would you feel if Angie had romantic comedy?" asked May.

"Um…not affected? But she's different!" Ash tried to reason.

"You are afraid!" May gasped. "It's for an assignment, you and Misty wouldn't actually be involved…plus, it says tragedy,"

"I guess you're right," said Ash suddenly.

"And furthermore—hmm?" May leaned her ear in more, assuming she had heard wrong

"I shouldn't be afraid," said Ash. "Don't worry May," he cheekily smiled.

"That easily?" May still seemed shock despite Ash trying to assure her he was okay with it.

* * *

><p><em>At the end of the day<em>

"Okay, so Mr. Brown is gone right now," said Drew, peeking inside the classroom.

"Let's go," said Misty.

Dawn sighed as she followed both her friends inside. "Neat room, and I literally mean neat," said Dawn as she gazed around. Not a single speck of dust or cobwebs seemed to linger, the teacher's desk was neatly organized and the floor was indeed spotless, a few literary posters rested in frames on the wall some were actually inspirational.

"Teacher's a neat freak," said Drew as he opened up a compartment of the dark maple desk.

Misty was casually sitting on top of a student's desk; "What's wrong with that? I'm not a neat freak at all but I'm just wondering," asked Misty, who had caught her tongue before her friend could remark.

"Neat freaks are the only ones who wonder what's wrong with it; the closeted ones at least," Drew closed the compartment, "Nothing there," he announced.

"Try that grey cabinet on the left side—err, your right side," Misty directed as she pointed at it.

"Aren't you going to help me? This is your project after all, I mean if you weren't so scared there wouldn't be a problem," Drew whistled as he scrimmaged through some containers on the desk.

Misty bounced off the desk and ran over to the large gray cabinet, "I'm not scared!" she said as she jerked the handle to open it, causing a loud bang from the metal drawer when it reached the end of the track.

"That's way too loud Misty," said Dawn as she leaned against the wall with her arms folded when strange stabs of guilt began to overtake her. She knew her friends were doing the wrong thing, but them being stubborn caused them to ignore all her reasonable remarks. She sighed and went over to search through another black cabinet directly located to the gray one.

"Thanks Dawn," said Misty, giving her friend a small hug.

"That's what friends are for," she said as she opened up an orange binder she found. "But honestly, this is a bad idea,"

"No need to worry," said Drew, mimicking Dawn's catchphrase.

"I'm usually the positive one but come on, you both need to worry. Good thing he isn't my teacher!" Dawn said cheerfully as she closed the blinder and placed it back.

"He teaches some senior classes too, if not all," informed Misty, who found nothing in the gray cabinet.

Dawn's eyes widened.

"Who's laughing now?" Drew chuckled as he closed the desk compartments he bombarded.

Dawn swiped her hand through her forehead, "This is taking too long,"

"It's been less than five minutes," said Misty as she ran up to the podium to search through it.

* * *

><p>"I wonder where Ash is," said May out loud. "He's usually not late, I saw Angie walk out so he's not with her. Hmm, hope he comes here soon, I was going to tell him he should go to his teacher and talk about the genre with him. Ash said he was okay but I don't think so… Where is he?"<p>

May had been walking in circles through the empty hallway; suddenly another thought swam through her mind.

Her eyes lightened up, but not in a happy way. "Oh my goodness; Ash!" she gasped.

May ran through the empty, silent halls towards the English classroom.

* * *

><p>Unknown to Misty, Drew, and Dawn—the room had a closet, and unknown to Ash, he wasn't alone in the room.<p>

It was neither the largest, nor the most comfortable spot. Cleaning supplies surrounded him as he searched through blinders and bags in the closet.

"I can't believe I'm going through all this trouble, for a little thing," Ash whispered to himself. "Am I really afraid of my girlfriend? Is that normal? Doesn't soundhealthy, no matter what reason I come up with," he halted his searching, "I can't come up with a legitimate feeling other than the possibility that I'm afraid of what she can do,"

He hated feeling like that, he wasn't weak but at that moment he wasn't being himself, the traits he displayed was of a person panicking, which he was, but the unfortunate part was he had no other reason to panic but out of fear, caused by his girlfriend.

* * *

><p>"I'll try under the desk, maybe there's some other parts hidden in there," Drew said as he got to the floor and crawled under.<p>

"Ten cuidado!" said Dawn, Misty looked at her with a confused face, "I think it means good luck in Spanish," she awkwardly nodded before returning back to her searching mission.

Misty got off the floor and pushed back the materials in the podium, "Nothing important," she announced. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a door handle. "There's a closet here… Wow, this room gets bigger. Dawn, you look through the top of the desk, I'll get the closet."

"There's a closet?" Drew muttered from under the desk.

"Apparently," Dawn answered as she picked up a folder. A silver framed picture of a somewhat stony faced, blonde-haired, blue eyed man and a woman with dark red hair and darker blue eyes than the man's rested on top of the desk, and was framed nicely with flowers and the saying, "Love is always patient, love is always kind…". Dawn cocked her head to the side as she glanced at it. "I always hear that Mister Brown's strict and all, but I guess he's a softie for someone," she joked as she focused her attention on the materials atop the desk.

Misty had her pointer-finger on top of her chin as she tried to decipher how opening the door would work out. "Oh, Misty; you idiot! You have to slide it," she said to herself and slid the door open.

Ash was facing the door directly as it suddenly opened, he screamed as he saw someone had pulled it open.

"Oh my God!" Misty's eyes widened and she tripped backwards.

Dawn loudly gasped and dropped a notebook whilst allowing pencils, paperclips, and post-it notes to fly off the desk.

"What the Hell are you doing here?!" Misty whispered loudly.

"What am I doing here, what are you doing here?!" said Ash at the same volume.

"Ow!" muttered Drew, who had accidentally hit his head against the bottom of the desk as a result of the sudden commotion.

The four heard footsteps.

"Who's that?" Ash asked Misty.

"I don't know…" Misty answered, her voice pitched higher due to her anxiety.

May ran in and started panting as she stopped.

"Ahh!" Misty screamed and reached in to grab hold of a mop.

"Ow!" Drew bumped his head against the top of the desk a second time as he pulled out and stood back on his two feet.

"Oh my goodness," screeched May. "Drew, Misty, Dawn… You too?"

"You would think there'd be more people with common sense here, but I guess I'm the only one," Dawn said sarcastically and with disappointment lacing her voice, specifically towards May and Ash. If Misty and Drew weren't thinking May and Ash could've at least…

"I didn't like this plan either," said May. "It was going to lead to trouble,"

"You can let go of the mop now," said Ash. Misty peeked open an eye, then the other and set the mop back to where it originally was and came out of the closet.

"You saw the prompt too?" asked Misty.

Ash nodded, "I-umm…" he grabbed his shirt collar; the situation to him was awkward. It was especially awkward considering the conversation that had occurred in lunch that involved Drew and Dawn.

"You 'I-umm' what?" asked Misty sharply.

"Eh you-umm…" He mumbled out.

"'Eh-you-umm'? What do I um?" she retorted back.

Ash cleared his voice, "You have a problem with it too?"

"No, she doesn't. That's why we're all here looking through Mr. Brown's classroom to change the idea. That's totally why I even checked under the desk and banged my head twice. If I get a bruise I'll sue you both," Drew remarked sarcastically as he rubbed his head with his hand.

"Wait…" May opened up her lunchbox and took out a ribbon-shaped ice pack to hand to him.

"That's such a cute ice pack! Where did you buy it? It's so pretty!" gushed Dawn.

"Not the time," said Misty sternly. She turned back to Ash, "I do have a problem with it, but I wouldn't have one if it wasn't for your psychotic girlfriend possibly doing psychotic things to me after,"

"She's not psychotic!" Ash crossed his arms but his mind sort of agreed and saw her reason.

"Well, Mr. My-girlfriend-isn't-psychotic, what's your excuse?" Misty pursued her lips.

"I… err…"

"Stop mumbling and look up when you are speaking to someone; it's disrespectful," Misty commanded.

"Congratulations! You got promoted from acting like a know-it-all, to acting like my mother!" said Ash sarcastically.

"You just need to be a little more strict and boom! Mrs. Ketchum in the form of a high school student," said May.

Misty smiled widely.

"Don't encourage her," said Ash, and Misty ceased her smiling. "Well, since I have a non-psychotic girlfriend," he emphasized Angie as not being psychotic, "I can't do these types of projects,"

"I heard Angie and her partner are going to do a romantic comedy skit; what's your take?" asked Misty.

"Well it's just a project, I don't care—wait a second…" Ash realized what he had said, "y-you tricked me!"

"Again with the stuttering; secondly, how can I trick you when you blankly admitted it?" asked Misty.

Ash remained silent.

"Hmph," Misty crossed her arms and swiveled to face in another direction.

"You guys will never get anything done if you two fight," Drew reasoned out. "We're all here, and I know I'm not the one who makes the inspirational speeches but come on don't look at me look that," Misty and Dawn placed their hands up to their shoulders with their palms out, both exchanging confused glances.

"First off, in case of anything, try cleaning up the mess you all created," said Drew.

"Dale has a point," said Ash. "We need to sort of work together to accomplish what we want,"

"Accomplishing what you want by letting a girl named Angie dictate your life. Fear is fear for a reason, it holds you back," said Dawn. "And I say that to both of you,"

"Um, Ash, his name is Drew," said May, pointing to the insulted teen. "But I agree with Dawn, Ash you are afraid of Angie getting hurt or hurting someone—namely Misty,"

"She's my girlfriend and I do love her" commented Ash.

"What's the opposite of love?" Misty asked Ash.

"Hate?" he answered.

She chuckled, "Wrong; fear, because it kills all chances of love. I'm not saying or judging your gossip-worthy relationship, but you both, I can tell are not in that stable or trusting of a relationship if you possess that fear."

"Misty doesn't want to deepen herself into drama, you are afraid of what your girlfriend will do and how it can affect others," said Drew.

"That's the nicest way to put everything," Dawn commented. "We all need to work together,"

May picked up the dropped paper clips and placed it back in the containers, Drew came over to help her while Dawn began to organize the top of the desk. Ash and Misty tidied up the closet a little, she placed her hand on top of a dropped sponge, Ash, not seeing her hand, placed his on top.

They both averted their gaze up at each other; Misty snatched it and got up on her toes to try and toss it into the bucket. It flew off, but didn't even brush against the dreaded red bucket.

Ash caught it and smoothly laid it in, he smiled while Misty huffed and walked out. "Ash," she called out.

"What?" he answered, a smug look still remained on his face.

"Get out of the closet,"

Ash's eyes widened, "E-excuse me? I'm not gay!" He shot back.

"I meant walk out of the closet so I can close the door. But thank you for assuring me you aren't gay, the question didn't come across on my mind but who knows if in the future I might have wondered," Misty smirked as she walked over to straighten up some blinders and newspapers on top of the podium.

Ash maneuvered by her, "I'm not gay,"

Misty looked up as she folded a newspaper, "You already told me that, why are you getting defensive over a miscommunication?"

"Because you said you might wonder about if I'm gay or not," Ash said defensively.

"But you already assured me you aren't. You stepped out of _that_ closet," Misty happily pointed at the closet in the back, "are you still hiding in another?"

"I'm not gay! Why does everyone ask or think that?" Ash muttered, he slapped his face as he figured he was setting himself up for more of Misty's remarks.

She didn't speak, but her eye widened with what Ash figured was plain amusement, she whistled a song as everyone finished tidying up the room.

"Now what, Drew?" asked May.

"What do you mean?" he asked her as he lazily leaned against the chalkboard wall.

"Plan two?" she asked. Drew's mouth formed an 'o' as he remembered what she was pertaining to.

"Um…find other ways?" Drew shrugged and looked at the others for possible contributions.

"I have an idea!" Dawn raised her hand.

"Yes, Dawn," Drew called on her like a teacher.

"We all go home now before we all get in trouble and your teacher holds it against you for the remainder of your time as a high school student!" Dawn smiled despite the sarcasm raining from her words.

"He teaches most senior English classes too, Dawn," said May; Dawn shrieked. "I think we all need to go home, right now, before anything else gets messed up,"

"You guys can go," said Ash. "I'm not giving up on this, I don't give up,"

"I don't give up either, but I don't want any of you to get in trouble since you are all so concerned. Drew, May, Dawn, and Ash, all of you leave," Misty pointed at the door.

"This is my project too, so I'll stay. But you should leave, you might be in enough trouble already," Ash suggested.

"I'll keep looking for a little while, you leave," said Misty.

"No, you," Ash emphasized the 'you.'

"I'm staying, you leave. You aren't staying with me," Misty said again.

Ash crossed his arm, "Excuse me? Listen, you can't just boss me around. You, Misty: um… Flowerwater—"

"Waterflower," corrected Dawn and Drew at the same time.

"Well whatever it is,"

"Ash, um, that's the second name mishap you've had today," May pointed out with small concern in her voice.

"It's not like I make notecards of all the people I meet and memorize their name every night before going to sleep," Ash commented.

Misty raised an eyebrow as she assumed Ash was pertaining to her as he spoke, "Are you glaring at me? Excuse me, but I just have good memory and I do not do that, why don't you all leave, especially you, right now,"

Ash planted his feet firmly on the ground, "I'm not leaving, but you will be,"

"I said I don't want to le-leave," Misty shrieked the last word as Ash placed his arms around her waist and cradled her in his arms.

"Told you you're leaving," said Ash as he smirked. Misty didn't go without a fight; she wiggled and shook around but couldn't slip out. She frowned but didn't give up and struggled to get him to put her down.

"Put me down!" Misty ordered.

"Make me," said Ash as he walked out of the hallway and dropped her semi-gently on the floor.

May, Drew, and Dawn had rushed out to see what Ash was planning on doing.

He closed the door on them all, but forgot to lock. Misty grumpily got back on feet and opened the door and they all rushed in.

"I'm sorry Ash, but you forgot to lock the door," May said as if she was announcing an unfortunate event.

"Ugh," Ash fell on to the black, leather chair. He looked down to see wheels, upon noticing them he spun around childishly.

"If you aren't going to do something then please get out, now. Even if I allowed you to handle this yourself all you would have managed to accomplish was spinning around in a chair," Misty rolled her eyes.

"Well I need to do something too, that's why I'm here," Ash flicked his hand up into the air as he continued to spin.

* * *

><p>"I honestly don't like this idea at all," said May, "But I can't leave them to do it by themselves; I'd feel guilty," she said.<p>

"Hmph, we should leave, but I'd feel guilty about it the whole night," Dawn sighed.

"I hate being a good, loyal friend sometimes," said Drew. "Even though I sort of gave Misty the suggestion, it didn't exactly go as planned,"

"If it did go according to plan, I have a feeling you would be claiming you didn't, 'sort of' give her the idea, but you schemed the whole thing," said May, chuckling slightly after.

"I wouldn't do such a thing!" Drew answered back.

"May's right, you would," said Dawn, she felt a vibration and opened up her phone.

_Paul: My friends are idiots._

Dawn giggled out loud; Drew poked his head in to steal a look at what Dawn was looking at.

"You talk to your boyfriend twenty-four seven," Drew teased.

"You have a boyfriend?" asked May sweetly.

Dawn felt her face heat up, "No! Ignore him," she nudged Drew's shoulder and hid her phone screen.

"Just this boy she talks to twenty-four seven,"

"My friend Paul is always texting too, though he doesn't show any interest in the opposite sex at all. Maybe he's just writing on his phone, but not texting a person twenty-four seven; nonetheless a girl," May chuckled.

"What if he was?" Dawn half-joked.

"Then she must be some girl, he usually deems most are idiots. I don't hear him say it verbally but his glare just… Actions speak louder than words," said May.

"I know what to do!"

"You don't!" said Misty.

Drew brought his finger to his lip, "Sssh, keep it down."

"They are still fighting?" said May in disbelief. "We should try to play peace maker,"

"Misty said Ash and her got along when they were at that orphanage," said Dawn.

"Right, we're going to find a kid right now to bring in at this moment so they will stop fighting," Drew shook his head, "I think May has a good point, but they are both stubborn, and if Misty is determined well…"

"Get out of the way," Dawn finished for him. "And it was just a suggestion, Harley Jr.,"

"Oh goodness," May appeared horrified, recalling her meeting with Harley.

"I am much cooler than Harley, for your information," Drew retorted.

"Saying you're cooler makes you less cool," May pat Drew's back.

"That word slipped out, I swear, I've been walking too much today that's why," Drew bit his lips as May laughed and Dawn shook her head while smiling.

"Like this idea wasn't fully yours," May winked, "It wasn't; it was all Misty, right?"

"I just suggested it, but…it's…both of us," said Drew.

"What are they doing now?" Dawn's jaw dropped as she saw Misty and Ash arguing over the computer.

He was sitting on the chair but her arms and his arms were tangled as they both ping-ponged the attached mouse.

"Fine!" Misty exclaimed. "Let's see you try and crack the password," she pulled her arms away and placed her hands in the air as if she were arrested and the cop had asked her to do so.

"I'll keep watch," said May. "I have this…feeling someone's going to come in right now,"

Dawn had forgotten to text Paul back, she was still holding her phone and covering the screen by placing it against her uniform sweatshirt.

_Dawn: My friends are idiots too, but if they do something stupid I can't leave them._

May crept by the edge of the wall and slowly peeked out; her head was against the white stone as she tried to hear vibrations of someone coming.

"Maybe he keeps his password somewhere close by?" suggested Drew, who came over to try and be some sort of olive branch to the bickering pair.

Misty looked around and noticed that by a picture frame was a pocketbook. Small, red, and delicate, it fit into her hands as she flipped through.

She showed a written note inside to Ash, who typed it in, and sure enough, the password registered.

"Let's see…," Ash said as he clicked on the documents folder.

"Search the title," said Misty.

Ash nodded but no results came out, "Nothing," said Ash.

"He probably doesn't keep it on his computer then, maybe he's one of those teachers who carry those things around like it's their baby," said Misty, she shrugged and Ash sighed, he attempted to close the computer.

"Misty, it froze," said Ash.

"You idiot!" Misty gritted her teeth.

"He was never good in technology," May told Dawn.

"Good job," said Dawn sarcastically towards Ash.

"Wait, I think he carries around his own laptop too!" Drew suddenly remembered and announced.

"You couldn't have told us that sooner?" Misty sighed as she started banging random keyboard buttons.

Dawn's phone vibrated again;

_Leaf: I..ugh…long story but this bitch and this other bitch reported me and they seriously considered I harassed them! I was standing up for my friends, that's it.. but the principal at least was nice enough to stand up for me but now I need a tutor! I'm not suspended but I have two detentions to serve. It was some faculty meeting.__.__. __W__ow__,__ all for one issue._

"Guys," Dawn reread the message Leaf had sent her again, "A friend of mine named Leaf told me that there was a faculty meeting,"

Misty noticed Ash froze and his eyes ballooned when Dawn mentioned the name Leaf. He merely shook his head lightly before again attempting to decipher the "frozen computer virus curse" laid upon them.

"So he should be coming here soon!" May said anxiously. She peaked out to see a teacher walk down the center of the hallway, her heart beat increased but relaxed as the teacher walked another direction.

"Bye, Richard!" The teacher politely waved.

She knew who that was.

"He's coming," she whispered loudly to everyone. The computer finally unfroze and shut down, Misty, Drew, Ash, Dawn, and May grabbed their bags as they all tried to race out of the room.

May tripped and fell and Drew paused to help her up. Yet, even if she hadn't, the teacher called out to Dawn, Ash, and Misty.

"Miss Waterflower, Mr. Ketchum, and friend; what are you all doing here? It's forty-five or so minutes past the end of the school day."

Ash, Misty, and Dawn looked at each other with wide eyes, but it was Dawn who exhaled and bravely faced the teacher.

"Mr. Brown, my name is Dawn Bertliz, I do not have your class; however, I wish to apologize for entering your room without permission," she walked up and shook his hand as if she were a professional his age.

"What does she mean?" said Drew quietly to May.

May shrugged, "Is she really admitting it all?"

"I also see Mr. Hayden and Ms. Maple currently in my room," Mr. Brown observed, scratching his chin in thought.

Drew and May calmly stepped out; both were slightly shaking and held hands.

"You see," Dawn pulled out her cell phone and opened up her pictures.

She had lost two phones, if there was anything she learned it was to keep two sim cards. When she got her first phone she had two sim cards with exactly everything, when she lost the next she again had two and of course everything was saved in multiple places.

"Please continue," Mr. Brown said abruptly, though kindly.

Dawn showed him a picture of her sterling silver necklace with a star, "This necklace is important to me, it belonged to my mother and according to her it's been in our family for ages. She met my dad through it, she had lost it and he found it. Misty is my best friend, I allowed her to borrow it for a Yearbook Committee meeting, though somehow she had lost it and…" Tears ran down her cheeks, while the circumstance wasn't real she remembered her mom speaking about her dad.

Everyone at Drama Class would ask how she fakes the tears well, Dawn doesn't find it special, but when she recalls her dad and how she had never met him and how hard it is for her to imagine how her mother and him had gone wrong… Those thoughts brought forth tears.

"Now, now," said the teacher, "I understand the tears you shed; he showed her a plain golden ring on his finger with the small, delicate diamond in the center: "My fiancée, Skyla; after she and I met, our relationship blossomed from a close, respectful friendship, into a powerful relationship. One day, however, it was challenged. She was driving home from the airfield where she flies cargo planes, when someone crashed into her head-on; he was drunk. She did not die, for that I thank God every day, but she has yet to fully recover: Her legs are paralyzed and she is traumatized by the accident and the fact she can't fly until she heals… It's been four years, she's just barely walking again with help. The smile in her eyes when she can walk just a few steps without help gives me unfathomable joy, and seeing her is the highlight of my day- though I do care about my students too," He lightly chuckled. "I still wear the ring, despite the two of us having yet to be married: The important thing for me is that she lived, and the ring reminds me not to look at negatives and how hope and patience are important virtues in life."

Misty, Ash, Drew, and May felt relaxed as Dawn did not reveal what had happened. But sad too due to Dawn's tears, which looked too believable to be acting, and the story their teacher had told them.

"I-I didn't find the necklace yet though," said Dawn, wiping her face.

"The lost and found might be helpful; I could even contact the school to make an announcement—"

"T-thank you, b-but it's alright, I'll look around early tomorrow and maybe at home. Thank you sir," Dawn wiped her tears off.

"I wish you good luck in finding it, in that case," Mr. Brown said; his eyes shining with unshed tears which he quickly covered up.

"Miss Skyla is lucky to have you. I wish her well in her recovery," said May.

"Sorry for entering without permission, it was a very urgent mission you see. We did learn from it though," Drew said.

"Don't repeat this again, alright?" Mr. Brown said; composure regained.

They all nodded.

"We'll let you know tomorrow in class if we find anything, Sir. And I too hope the best for your fiancée as well," said Misty.

"Thank you all," Mr. Brown nodded.

Ash, realizing he hadn't said a word, abruptly said, "Me too,"

"Pardon?" The teacher asked as he began to sit at his desk.

"I'm sorry for what happened to your fiancée and sorry for entering your room too for searching purposes," said Ash.

"Like I told Mr. Hayden; do not repeat this again. No need for apologies about Skyla, however," His face beamed, "She's still alive, and as I said; I thank God every day for that."

* * *

><p>Misty took out Dawn's necklace as they all walked outside, she handed it to Dawn.<p>

"Thanks for letting me borrow it, and, well…" Explaining what happened was not needed.

"I told you so," Dawn smiled.

"Thank you for saving us, Dawn Berlitz," Misty said gratefully.

"I feel guilty though," said Dawn with a sigh. "I didn't expect a full length story: Makes me feel bad for the guy, almost losing his fiancée…" Dawn clasped the necklace within her hand, she gazed at it and tried to imagine what would happen if she really lost it; "I'd cry even worse if I lost this," she commented.

Dawn gathered her hair strands and bundled them into a ponytail held in place by her hand, she handed Misty the necklace, which was then securely wrapped and fastened around her neck. Hearing what Dawn had said about the importance, she pressed her fingers against it just to be sure it was secure.

"We had no choice," said Ash, he patted her back. "You did what you did, and Misty and I owe you, big time,"

"I wish I thought of something else though," Dawn said.

"Sometimes, lying just seems like the only resort… Unless they backed out when everything was clean then it was the only way," May pointed out.

Drew nodded, "Not that I'm encouraging lying! We are just trying to make you feel less guilty."

Misty awkwardly chuckled, "You shouldn't be the one feeling guilty; that should be me and Alex,"

"Alex?" asked Dawn.

"He's been saying everyone else's name wrong so…"

Ash rolled his eyes, "Accidentally."

"Whatever," Misty shot back. "It's nearly four o'clock, how about if I make it up to you, Dawn, and May by buying dinner or something? And of course Drew's coming too," she answered before Drew could say something back.

"Okay!" May answered immediately. Her irises skated from side-to-side and she blushed, "I um mean, thank you,"

"I doubt that," said Drew, who smirked at her response. May's cheeks turned a brighter shade of red, she lightly hit him.

"Am I included in this too?" asked Ash.

"Hmm…" Misty cooed, she gazed at the sky and tapped her foot as she thought. She looked at Ash, "Yes," Ash smiled, he opened his mouth to speak until Mistyinterrupted his words, "I'm only paying for May, Dawn, Drew, and myself though. Good luck there,"

"What?! That's not fair," Ash's arms were up in the air by his chin; he was in disbelief that Misty was still holding him to some sort of grudge.

"How is it not? I'm paying for those who helped me," asked Misty, who was finding it hard to laugh at his annoyance towards her decision.

"I helped too!" Ash exclaimed.

"You didn't help me technically speaking," said Misty as she walked away.

"I know a place semi-close by, ten or twelve minutes maybe hmm?" said May.

"We have to take the bus then," said Dawn.

"I thought you could legally drive at age sixteen?" asked Misty.

"No, it's eighteen here, even if, none of us have a car," said Drew, Harley had promised that if Drew got accepted into collage he'll gladly hand over his old car—which wasn't exactly Drew's style of choice.

"What—_you know who_ picked me up last year and he wasn't eighteen!" Misty buried her face into her hands and groaned.

Ash laughed, "What kind of noise was that… Wait; hold on…if none of you have a car who did you expect to drive?"

Drew cleared his throat, a sound that sounded like "you" came out.

"Wow, first you have to hesitate to invite me then you say I'm paying for myself and now you wanted me to play driver? Aren't you amazing," Ash grumbled.

"Paul has a personal driver," said May.

"Someone's rich," commented Drew.

"Let's invite him, but he might not like the restaurant he's a little-" May's eyes widened, she stopped and silently gestured at Ash to finish the thought.

"Picky, neat-freak, smart, annoying, aggravating, cold, sarcastic—not as sarcastic at Drew though," Ash finished. "And I got your name right; it's Drew, Drew, Drew, Drew,"

Drew flicked his hair off his face and clapped, "I'll give you a gold star, good job,"

"Was that sarcasm?" asked Ash. Drew shook his head and opened up his green bag, he pulled out a blue folder and peeled off what everyone assumed was a gold star. He released his grasp at the folder and with one hand and closed the bag; he was smiling as he walked over to Ash and stuck the golden star on his cheek.

"Get ninety-nine more of that and you'll pick from the treasure chest," Drew cooed. Everyone laughed while Ash grumbled.

May took out her phone and looked through her contacts until she saw Paul's name and then, she clicked the call button; "Maybe he'll listen you Dawn, especially if you tell him you were the Dawn that he helped out that one day,"

Dawn held the coincidence to herself, she saw three digits of his phone number—same area code or if not exact, closely resembling Prince Charming, or whom she referred to as Paul. The way Ash described Paul was exactly how the Paul she knew acted, but the thought they were the same person was… Impossible. Paul was a common name, on that list of common baby names every year, those circumstances occurred only in movies.

Dawn smiled and grasped the cell phone, which had a cute sparkling pink-and-white cover Dawn envied, her heart beat suddenly increased as she brought it to her ear.

"Hello?" An emotionless sounding voice grumbled.

Dawn admittedly jumped, that voice sounded exactly like the voice she created in her head when the Paul she knew sent texts to her.

"Hi, I'm Dawn; the girl you helped with Ursula! Thank you for that by the way, but really the money was a lot and I can give it back if you need and—

"Are you here to pester me? And for the love of God, why can't you calmly accept things given without a question? Do I look, or from what you've heard, like money is scarce for me?" he chastised her over the phone.

Dawn's jaw dropped at his comments, she didn't know him but she figured she'll deal with him the way she deals with the Paul number one—kill with kindness or answer back.

"I'm sorry but I don't judge others without getting to know them first," Dawn spat into the phone.

"Just keep it, but what do you honestly want?"

"And you know how careless people can be, I wanted to make sure you didn't commit a mistake and have me arrested, accusing me of thievery," Dawn answered.

"Okay alright I get it, please cease your rambling,"

"And you know what else? I do still want to say thank you for helping me out, you seem like a sweet guy. Stubborn and unwilling to admit it, but sweet deep down inside," Dawn was literally smiling as she began phase two.

"Please, shut up," Paul's voice seemed more pleading than straightforwardly upset.

"I wrote you a poem too but how kind you are! I'll read it right now then I'll explain why May asked me to call," Dawn said sweetly.

"Oh my God, please hurry up before I sentence myself to life in Hell, that seems more enjoyable than this torture…"

"Lamps need light bulbs, damsels in distress need heroes, but I don't need either. I'm not a damsel in distress and I am certainly not a lamp, you aren't a light bulb to make me bright and you aren't in skinny tights rescuing me in day or not, you are like my guardian angel looking out for me and innocent people. But there's a twist, you aren't dead and you can't fly, you aren't perfectly polite or angelic, humble could be used to describe you but the best word I can use is proof. Proof good exists in this world and proof goodness comes in different shapes, shades, and forms," Dawn recited.

"That's a horrible poem," Paul deadpanned.

"I thought it was sweet," Dawn heard May comment.

"I had another way, but I made that up for you," Dawn said cheerfully. In all honesty, there was no other one but she had made it up on the spot.

"What is it now?" Paul sighed.

"We are going to a restaurant; would you like to join us? Ash, May, Drew, Misty, and of course I will be there,"

"No, I don't want to see the annoying specimen named Ash, your aggravating green-haired friend, and especially you." Paul then closed the call.

"He said no," Dawn called out as she handed the phone to May.

"We heard," said Misty.

Ash was laughing; his neck was down as he tried to cover it up. "Good acting," he chuckled and gave Dawn a high-five.

"My pleasure," she bowed.

"You can make yourself cry in seconds and act bubbly if you wanted to, you could be an actress," commented May.

"Aww thank you, I feel honored. Your friend Paul is very…in denial," said Dawn, snickering.

"That's not a word people use to describe him," said Ash.

"He seemed grumpy," Misty pointed out.

"When I came over he yelled at me with big words," said Drew, remembering when he had seen Paul.

"Those two are things used to describe him," said Ash.

* * *

><p>"Table for five!" A waiter called out loudly.<p>

Misty looked around and admired the choice, the velvety red carpets were clean and had a fresh scent, washed-out vintage, beige walls really gave it a feel. Old-fashioned tables modeled like barrels made it seem..authentic, the coaches of brown leather or wooden chairs just added to the feel.

"It's like we're in the country side," commented Dawn.

May jumped as she heard a flashing sound, she swiveled her head to say Drew lifting a digital camera up to his eyes and snapping pictures.

"You startled me," said May.

Drew smiled and took a picture of her too.

"Let me see that!" May laughed as she craned her head up to get a better picture. "Delete," she immediately responded once Drew showed her how it looked.

Her eyes were closed, her arms were waved in front of her upper-body like spaghetti, a peach spot was also lightly evident, which May assumed was Drew's own thumb.

Misty lifted both eyebrows as she snuck a glance, "I should add that to the yearbook," she said.

"Let's wait for another embarrassing picture without my finger," Drew smirked while May wailed:

"If you're going to get one of me then I should get one of you too!" she chanted, but Drew remained mute, though a smile did creep through the cracks.

"So you are Ash, and your girlfriend is?" The waiter asked.

"Girlfriend?"

Misty's eyes twitched as she heard the waiter comment, she pretended not to be paying attention, but her ears were fully attentive.

"The girl with red hair," he said.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Ash said loudly, he blushed from speaking too loud, and what the waiter suggested.

Misty rolled her eyes, sometimes Ash was tolerable but they were on "fight" mode that day, tomorrow could be "tolerate" for all she knew. He did help you with your little episode that one day in English class.. that annoying voice inside her head reminded.

"He's here with his sister; see the girl with blue hair?" Another waiter said.

"She's not my sister, and she's not my girlfriend either," grumbled Ash.

Dawn, who was gazing at the view from the large clear windows turned her head sharply when she heard the question; "I'm whose girlfriend? And whose sister?!"

"Oh then she's here with that boy there," A waiter said. "You see, we have your table for two ready,"

"Um, sir, there's five of us," Ash answered.

A man not clothed with a green and black uniform identical to the workers came forward, he was apron-less and was clothed in pure black. "Is there confusion?"

"We have them listed as two, we only have space for two. But there's five," A worker explained with a sigh.

The man, who Ash presumed was the owner, buried his face in the palm of his hand. "Bel!" he called out towards the counter.

A girl with a long blonde bob and excited lime green eyes popped out from underneath the counter, "Yes, papa?" she asked.

Misty tapped Ash's shoulder, "Isn't she in our class…?"

Ash shrugged, "She does look awfully familiar."

Misty despised her whole English class with the exception of Ash—that sentence alone placed the rest of her class poorly, especially taking into consideration how she and said raven-haired boy were that specific day.

The girl didn't laugh at her, however; or, if she did, not as obviously as the others. Misty remembered two faces that looked semi-worried during such times, hers resembled one. The other was a boy with black hair and glasses; she presumed his name was… Cheren?

"Table of five, these five young people are here as a group. You listed down two individuals, it's five," The owner corrected. "A group of around six came in after and because we had them listed as two we gave the group of six seats before them, this place is crowded, they'll have to wait possibly thirty or so minutes to sit,"

The owner seemed brash, and to Misty his aging process wasn't secreted, black bags under his eyes showed how tired he was, running a restaurant isn't an easy job of course. Misty looked at Dawn, whom Misty knew wanted to open a restaurant one day. I hope she doesn't look like that every day if she does, Misty was supporting, but also practical. She preferred if Dawn took a more cautious coarse in collage instead of business, risky measures in her opinion. Misty did admit others had that potential, Dawn had the talent but how would she stack up against those with more brilliant schemes? These things are too far away from Misty, _think about tomorrow but don't neglect now_, she reminded herself.

"It's okay, really," said Drew.

"We can wait," said May, whose stomach ironically grumbled. Everyone stared, May felt her face heat up, "Sorry, I barely ate lunch today."

"I'm just really hungry," Ash said, Misty suddenly grabbed his hand and held it. Ash was shocked at first, but the feeling was nice; better than her shouting at least. It didn't last long as she pinched him, causing him to almost squeal. "We can wait though!" He turned his head towards Misty, who saw and parroted, but smiled as if she had done nothing wrong. And then, she let go of his hand.

Bel walked up to all of them, "I'm really sorry," she bowed her head.

"It's alright!" said Misty.

"Dinner's three quarters off, we are very sorry," said the owner, who looked dishonorably at his daughter.

"We can take out?" suggested Dawn. "Have a nice picnic in the park or something?"

"I like that idea," said Drew, he leaned in closer to everyone, "then we don't have to pay tip," he whispered.

"Drew!" May and Misty said together.

"I went to this one place with my sister Soledad and we had to pay like twenty dollars, the tip was apparently 25 percent..." Drew complained quietly, remembering that experience.

Misty noticed the blonde girl, Bel, looked distraught over the mistake. She exhaled and went over to Bel, who didn't seem to recognize Ash or her.

"It's okay," Misty tried to comfort.

"I'm sorry, I'm so stupid," she bowed her head once again.

"No you're not!"

"I am, this isn't the first time I've messed up… You see, we're from Unova. We're opening up a second store here since I go to school not too far away, so Papaand I figured it'll be easy. While I'm here for school, we'll run the restaurant in Petalburg. But during the summer we'll go back to Unova and I can work there… ButI keep messing up," Her eyes, though energetic, apparently became teary easily.

"And you learn from it, sometimes you'll mess up again and again, but you get up from it. Just keep trying to improve, pay more attention perhaps or write it down? Be careful, use your eyes? Anything can work," said Misty strongly.

Ash tuned in to what Misty was saying to Bel, Sometimes I can't stand her but she's good with people, he admitted to himself.

"I've dropped food, forgotten orders, broken plates," Bel admitted.

"First, is this what you really want to do?" asked Misty.

"No…" Bel answered suddenly. "I don't want to inherit all these restaurants…I want to work with animals,"

"Not a main reason but if you are disinterested in something, then you won't be great at it: One's heart needs to be in to it or they will be miserable," Misty stated calmly.

"Dad doesn't want me to go to vet school; he wants me to take over the family business," Bel explained sadly.

"You've tried telling him otherwise? No?"

Misty sympathized with Bel, but unlike the blonde girl she had freedom. She wanted to be in the same field as her parents, no one pressured her to wanting to become a pediatrician. Freedom's a wonderful, though without brains it won't get you far. People who took things like freedom or family for granted upset Misty, mainly the family part.

_Teenagers flipping off their parents because they didn't buy them an __iPhone5: I__ mean you people_, she added bitterly to her train of thought.

Bel's face grimaced, "I did, but he didn't understand," she explained.

Misty creased her brow; Mr… Whoever the owner of the restaurant was flew by them, he didn't appear to be as Bel described. Looks never told the full story though, and neither did one side. Misty tried not to automatically begin to judge him, he could have a good reason; although she was unintentionally.

It wasn't that she forced herself to judge: Her mind did that automatically.

"Sometimes you might not know what to do; sometimes people seem so thick-headed it's hard to find a crack. You need to persist; at least that's what I would attempt. Make the words poignant; make him admit his true reason to why not too, he can't make you do anything you don't want to," Misty said.

"Thank you, but it seems like he won't budge. I won't give in though, that's why I work so hard in school, so I can get my own scholarship maybe. Money could be a problem," Bel's soft face seemed to soften even more as she made attempts to calm down.

Or, what Misty assumed, was Bel trying not to cry.

"You know, once I accidentally added mustard to macaroni and cheese instead of the sauce," Misty admitted as she tried to recall all her mishaps in seconds, just to lighten the mood.

"Really?" said Bel.

"Another time I tried to make a birthday cake, I confused some candles with candy and one of my friends almost ate it," Misty placed a finger on her chin and shrugged snuggly; the said event replayed embarrassingly through her mind like a film role.

"Didn't work, Misty: You didn't kill me," Drew called out.

"Aww drat; and here I thought I was living with a clone. What a pity…" Misty retorted back with sarcasm.

"Oh wow!" Bel's eyes widened. "You know, I feel better now," she added.

"Good!" said Misty, who's happy her misfortunes brought some happiness.

"I still wish I could run away and escape the problems," Bel said with hope in her eyes.

Misty lightly chuckled, remembering something once, "A friend once told me running away from problems is being afraid to face it, the only way to truly run away from it forever is to face it before running and moving on,"

"And there you go," Bel said; relieved that nothing else went wrong. "I'm still so sorry,"

Dawn smiled, "It's alright! I prefer going outside anyways,"

"Me too," said Misty. "And everyone else is hungry but they liked this too, at least allow me to add in a tip though,"

Bel said the tip wasn't needed, but Misty was persistent.

Dawn pulled out some of the money Paul had given her and handed it to Bel, "Here you go! Keep that for vet school," Dawn whispered into Bel's ear.

While waiting the others joined Misty in the conversation, while everyone was relieved to finally be eating they felt slightly sad to have to part from their friend.

"Wait…you go to Petalburg Academy?" Bel said with realization dawning in her voice.

"Yup," Ash answered.

"You're… Ash and Misty! You're in my English class! You both got detention the first day," Bel hands flapped around historically with a small giggle at the end.

A small, sarcastic smile quirked up the sides of Misty's face, "It was Ash's fault,"

"Was not!" Ash stomped his foot and huffed.

"I thought you two were a couple, actually, with the way you fight," Bel said with a wink.

"Ew," Misty responded soon after, she lightly blushed though to the thought; upon noticing the pinkness she cursed herself for blushing.

Ash was flustered, in fact more evidently then Misty was, who's could be blamed as embarrassment while Ash's couldn't exactly.

"Making that a forty dollar bet," said Drew to Misty.

"Bet?!" Ash jumped back.

"Nothing," said Misty, whose glare at Drew intensified. "Just, nothing,"

* * *

><p>Drew and May dropped the bags on the table as Dawn began to set up, the bluenette had insisted on stopping over at a near-by store to grab utensils and pretty napkins, much to Ash's dismay.<p>

"Is she always like that?" Ash asked Drew.

"Always," Drew said as he opened up the first white take-out box.

"Wow this is such a pretty leaf," said Dawn, who lifted up an orange and red leaf shaped like a feather.

Upon hearing the word "leaf", Ash stood up straight.

"The leaves of cherry trees look more beautiful," Drew said; it was only after he finished that he realized how odd his sentence was. "I mean, come on Dawn! Who has time to pick up leaves and admire their beauty?" Drew historically swiped his hand at the air.

"I think those are flowers," May corrected.

"I feel bad for Leaf, but it's probably best if she gets a tutor. Who would snitch on her though?" Dawn asked after stating her opinion.

Misty furrowed her eyebrow, "She gets detentions like—"

"Like you get A's? Almost always?" Drew cut in before Misty could finish.

Misty frowned and threw a napkin at him, "I rarely get anything below an 'A', Leaf doesn't get detentions _all _the time. She gets detentions like…"

"Like I get B's or C's," Dawn finished.

"That's… Well, you've been getting a lot of A's recently too," Misty shrugged, she caught, from the corner of her eye, Ash in a deep thought.

She sort of caught him jump upon him hearing the word, "leaf." May stayed unusually quiet too, but not as obvious as Ash.

"You guys alright?" Drew, who noticed too, asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," May bounced back from her bubble and answered. "Just thinking about Leaf, your friend…"

Ash's face suddenly appeared anxious, as if May was going to say something he didn't want her to.

"Maybe sometimes, but she probably doesn't deserve most of the behavior ones, if not ninety-nine percent of them all," May, to Ash's relief, thought out loud.

Misty found that peculiar, Ash then pulled his bottom lip between his teeth while his eyes… Looked regretful? Lost?

"I'll be right back," Ash said.

Misty watched him walk off, his hands were kept in his pockets and his head was pointed just a tad bit down than normal.

After he was a good distant away, Misty decided to follow.

* * *

><p>She found him sitting on a park bench.<p>

"Ash?" asked Misty. He remained mute, and merely threw crumbled bread to the birds that pecked the stone ground. "Ash?" she parroted, but Ash copied his previous actions again. Misty breathed in, then out before continuing. She tapped his shoulder, Misty noticed he flinched but still choose to ignore it. "You seem affected when we discussed Leaf… And saying her name or the leaf in general seems to get a reaction…"

His chest bloated out in indignation, "No I wasn't,"

"Is there something wrong?" Misty asked with genuine concern. She placed her hand on his shoulder comfortingly as the problem became evident to her. "You know her, don't you?"

Ash immediately shook his head, "N-No,"

"You have to have met her once before! How did I not realize this? She's from Kanto, you're from Kanto! In fact, she is specifically from Pallet Town which is where you came from. Pallet isn't that large, Ash," Misty said.

"Okay, fine, I know her; just don't mention this to your friends," Ash asked of her.

"Why? Bad split or something? Wait is she an ex-girlfriend of yours?" asked Misty.

"Because they'll ask her and she might mention what happened at lunch today…"

"What happened?" Misty raised an eyebrow.

"Don't get mad," Ash looked at Misty, waiting for her response.

"I won't," she assured him.

Ash exhaled and began to explain what had happened, Misty's eye began to twitch when he explained what Brianna was claiming. He saw her grab the top of the park bench to release anger; he then began to explain what Leaf had been telling him..

"There was something familiar about her. She recognized me, though. If she didn't she would've said her name; she wasn't an ex-girlfriend, by the way. But she was.." Ash began to blush.

"You were smitten with her?" Misty said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, sort of," His blush reddened.

"Sort of? More like you really liked her a lot. Maybe now that you guys know each other old feelings might arise and-"

"She didn't like me back…I had a feeling she liked this other guy," Ash chuckled lightly, "I did miss her though, she was my first real crush," He paused for a second as memories flashed through his mind like a movie. "But, past is past. I would want her back as a friend however,"

"I think you both need to talk to each other. Leaf can be secretive at times, there was a reason she didn't mention who she was when you both saw each other. Chances are she knew who you are for a long time but never bothered to say," Misty shrugged.

"You still won't tell Drew and Dawn about the incident, right?"

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't," Misty pursued her lip; she had promised but the event was more than she expected.

Ash scratched his head, "Um… It will ruin a nice day?" He noticed she didn't seem impressed and he began to think again: "I don't think you should because we're trying to forget and move on from it. What Brianna tried to do was to get May away from Drew, as it seems. I also don't want Drew and Dawn to have to worry or be hurt,"

Misty placed a finger on her chin as she thought about it, "Okay,_ I _won't tell them,"

Ash breathed a sigh of relief.

"You will, though; it's only right if it's you that says it. I wasn't there, you and May are. One or both of you should say what happened, not me," Misty reasoned out.

Ash opened his mouth to try and contradict it, but he knew she had a point. "You have a point,"

"And why would you want me to hide it anyways?"

"I… I just didn't want an argument, okay?"

"Are you trying to protect her? Are you afraid of Brianna or something?" Misty kept throwing questions like there was no tomorrow.

"If only you knew," Ash mumbled.

"But I don't know,"

"Drew and Dawn would confront her…Brianna would say some things but Angie might also step in. They really hit it off today you know; then this mess would occur, I don't want gossip to start up," Ash

"But if someone was doing this to your best friends how would you react?" asked Misty again.

"I'd go up to whoever was saying it and tell them to stop," Ash answered quickly.

Misty rolled her eyes, "Exactly my point! I won't say because I don't think I have a right to decide that; but I don't see why you or May shouldn't. All I see is a teenager being afraid of being dragged into a fight,"

"I don't want anyone to be dragged in,"

"You also want to protect Angie, right? You think that Drew and Dawn would go up to her as well, am I wrong?"

"I also don't want drama to occur. I know Drew should know that his ex is crazy and is starting up rumors— "

"Albeit you don't want to say, I have a feeling that rumors won't go away," said Misty. "I can't comprehend a single reason that seems valid enough, seems to me like you are giving millions of excuses. You seem afraid, that's all I can tell. Someone once told me that he didn't think reasons and reason were the same thing; I called him an idiot but he made his point. He said reasons were just excuses while reason was the truth said person felt in their heart. He also said to look at fear with an eye-open, and you should face it but be cautious," Misty smiled as she recalled those times.

"Thanks, Misty," said Ash.

_I know the reason now, Misty. But I won't say this to anyone not even you, I'm afraid of causing trouble. I don't want to hurt anyone or see anyone get hurt; I don't want Angie to get upset if she finds out, and I'm afraid of what can happen to May if that old rumor with Gary comes up._

_"How's May? Pregnant?"_

_Ash turned around only to see Brianna; they were alone in the hallway and she had a smug look on her face._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I asked around, did some research. I heard she slept with Gary Oak,"_

_"That's not true at all!" Ash hissed at her._

_"Really? I heard from the grapevine that Gary was the one who began to claim it; heard there were pictures too of the two of them entering his room one day and not coming back for some time,"_

_"That's not true, the people you cite as sources are nothing but students who won't amount to anything after high school, you included," Ash retorted._

_"Are you positive? Because you might not know this, someone asked Gary if he had slept with all his flings. He said, that in all girlfriends, not flings, there had only been one, if he had been lying he would have said all, but he didn't. It would've made him look cooler too, but he didn't,"_

_"Don't tell anyone and that rumor will stay burned, okay?" Brianna winked and skipped off. She suddenly turned back, "If it is just a rumor after all.."_

Ash trusted May, he honestly did. But he wondered if she had been honest about that; he chastised himself for beginning to believe Brianna, but he was. He wasn't going to say, for May's sake.

"I'll still leave it up to the two of you," said Misty.

There were times when Ash wanted to strangle—not literally, but the anger was close to that level—or hug her. His eyes widened at the last thought; like the strangling part he didn't mean it literally but the happiness was at that degree of level.

Misty, to his advantage, was leaving it to May and him to decide—more specifically—him. Chances are May wouldn't mention it; not wanting to cause trouble. Ash's reasons were for more dangerous measures.

He would still feel guilty, as Misty suggested; the two sayings she said rang through his pondering mind. Funny, he remembered saying something like that too. He couldn't recall why or to whom, all he could remember was the same day he broke someone's bike.

**A/N: :)))**


	14. Irony

Before:

"What the Hell are you doing here?!" Misty whispered loudly.

"What am I doing here, what are you doing here?!" said Ash.

"Ow!" exclaimed Drew, who had accidentally hit his head against the bottom of the desk.

He couldn't recall why or to whom, all he could remember was the same day he broke someone's bike.

* * *

><p>"You know I could've sworn I saw both of you holding hands when you both walked back to us," Dawn teased Misty.<p>

"I could have sworn you broke a nail as I walked back too," Misty retorted with a sneer as Dawn twisted her hand quickly to check for a broken nail.

She stayed mute with an intensifying glare as Misty shook her head slowly, mentally adding a tally for her name.

It was night and after the hectic day the three came home at around seven. Drew finished his homework and fell asleep on the coach downstairs, Dawn fell asleep before waking up to finish her homework, and Misty finished her homework but stayed awake a while longer to make sure she had "perfected the material."

"I don't get this Algebra II thing," snapped Dawn suddenly amidst the silence.

Misty rolled her "spinning chair" over and leaned over to peek at the problem. "You don't subtract the X, you have to subtract the Y," she corrected.

"Oh… That makes that easier," Dawn said, flushing as she realized how basic her problem was.

"You're welcome," Misty chirped.

After the problem Dawn stumbled into, she was able to quickly speed through her homework and finished everything in a matter of forty minutes. Opening up her phone, she checked her email just in case—and once more before she could sleep again…

"OH MY GOD!" Dawn screamed.

Misty, who stopped reading her AP Chemistry book twenty minutes ago, was laying down on a pillow on the side of her bed when Dawn screeched.

Startled, Misty lifted her head off the bed, her chair jerked backwards with the motion, and Misty to her dismay fell off and landed on the floor—luckily catching herself before damage could have occurred.

Dawn gasped, "Oh, I'm sorry!" she yelled nervously.

Misty glared as she fixed herself off the floor, "What did you forget?"

Dawn's eyes widened, "Forget? Forget what? Pft, Misty, come on you know I don't forget. Who forgets? I don't forget! Not me. Nope. I don't forget anymore come on you know that Misty don't you know I don't forget because I don't forget because I'm responsible so no I don't forget why are you assuming that I forget becauseidontforgetatallanymoresowhatareyousaying?" [sic]

"I didn't understand that at all?" Misty shrugged as she continued on. "I know you Dawn, what did you forget. It can't be too bad… Right?"

Dawn bent her head down in defeat before she set both her hands on Misty's shoulders. "I forgot I signed up to audition for the winter play! And the audition is tomorrow!" she nervously exclaimed while quivering Misty in a swaying motion back and forth at a speed a bit too fast.

Misty plied Dawn off her and in a tone Dawn's mother, Johanna would portray, Misty kindly chastised Dawn: "HOW COULD YOU FORGET THAT?!" she yelled.

"I don't know! I just… Forgot it! Would you happen to have a winter-themed fairy costume that comes with wings?" Dawn chuckled apprehensively in a slow manner as she waited.

"No! Oh my God, Dawn! Ms. Fatina Dubois is going to kill you; didn't she even make the audition mandatory for her dance classes?" Misty's hands bound to her face as she threw her head back.

"She basically blackmailed us into signing up! Ugh! What am I going to do? On top of all that, Ursula's going to embarrass me if I look like trash tomorrow morning!" Dawn parroted Misty's actions and fell back into the black and white star-themed sheets.

After making sense of what happened, Misty, who was as tired as anyone, stood up and motioned Dawn to get up as well. "Come on, we're going to make that costume you need, and it's going to look so damn good and professional. Do you have the script?" asked Misty the way a general would ask a soldier.

"Yeah, I've been practicing it, I just forgot when the date of the audition was," Once again, Dawn smiled awkwardly and giggled with just as much anxiety.

Misty didn't appear to be amused at Dawn's laughter and sternly turned her back to the bluenette and walked out the door to Dawn's room—which included a work station for designing.

Dawn followed like a lost puppy, which she actually was at the moment.

"Fabrics, okay you have a lot of pink, lavender, and girly colors," Misty said upon examination. She shook her head with the unfortunate news: "It doesn't appear to me that you have anything that a fairy could wear."

"Maybe Kiana could wear pink and lavender?" Dawn suggested, pressing a thumb on her chin as her other hand traveled across the "girly" fabrics.

"What's the play even about?" snapped a grouchy Misty as she rubbed her eyes, needless to say, being half away while trying to be creative was not a mix that worked.

"Ms. Dubois wrote it. It's about these two fairies born on the same day, one's a princess the other came from a poor family. So the two got switched, Kiana, the main character and the one I auditioned for, is by blood the true heir to the throne. She ended up living a poor life but she's smart and really chirpy. The fairy she switched with grew up in the palace, Rani. Rani isn't exactly kind and became pretty snobby. Rani and Kiana meet and Rani's such a snob, like Angie. Her father can't work, so Kiana starts working at the palace and Rani makes it an inferno.

"Kiana may be sweet and humble, but she doesn't put up with that and fights back. She ends up getting fired after a confrontation of Rani's treatment. That same day, Rani is accidently killed by accident and Kiana has to take her place. Somehow this guy named Pedro puts a spell on everyone in the kingdom so everyone sees Kiana looking like Rani… So, it's like Kiana's journey pretending to be Rani. In the end it's actually found out that Rani didn't die and she was in cahoots with the main villain named Tressa. They knew Kiana was the legitimate heir; there's also a love triangle between Kiana and the kind prince that knows Kiana's secret and that prince's brother that wasn't affected either and is like cold. She ends up with the other brother, the one that was cold-hearted at the beginning, I forgot his name," Dawn huffed as she finished the explanation.

"Um, I wish I didn't ask what it was about," Misty commented, yawning and stretching once again to try and stay awake. "But the theme is something like winter? So you need a costume that resembles winter,"

"Not sure about the costume part, I guess it's to help her get a nicer image of us as who we are auditioning was. It's going to be like winterish clothing I guess but Kiana seems like the type to not be like the rest, maybe pink's okay," said Dawn idealistically.

"Hmm, well it's your call. We can get the wings tomorrow, and considering we are going to make her pink and such I guess your make-up is okay too. However, do you wear it to school?" asked Misty in her best attempt to sound "alive." She clutched a sparking pink fabric in hand as Dawn's eyes widened, not knowing the answer.

"Um…" Dawn tapped her foot on the ground as she tried to think. Misty's eyes widened. "Wait! I remember!" Dawn rushed into her backpack and pulled out the script, she turned to a page where she wrote: Wear costume to school.

"Thank goodness," said Misty as she swiped her hand across her forehead.

"Let's get to work!" A very much awake Dawn exclaimed.

"How could you stay alive and awake at this time of the night?" Misty exhaustedly said.

"I'm a night person!" she cheerfully answered.

"Wait, Dawn!" Misty yelled frantically before Dawn could even breathe on pink fabric.

"What is it?" asked Dawn shakily, the yell frightened her.

"Forget the sparkly pink idea. You said something about looking like trash—"

Dawn's pointed finger went up, "Correction, Ursula wouldn't let me live if I looked like trash tomorrow,"

"Dawn, she's a poor character originally. We can't make it sparkly or fancy. From what you said, I think it's actually best to make her look like trash, the good kind," Misty advised calmly.

Dawn forgot the plot hole Misty caught, "You're right, which makes the job easier," Both girls winked at one another, they were ready.

* * *

><p>Misty awoke to find that she had fallen asleep on the carpeted floor. "Ow," she muttered sourly as her head throbbed with pain as she tried to stand up on her two feet.<p>

Dawn, meanwhile, the room being her bedroom was able to climb into bed and sleep comfortably. They worked until three A.M. she believed, usually by eleven P.M., Misty could barely function. The work had paid off: Dawn was talented at designing and manufacturing, that was for sure. It's a given, and Misty had always known Dawn's talent in those artistic aspects, but last night once again proved it to Misty.

On the mannequin was an outfit that looked professional, despite an amateur sewing it together. Dawn went with Misty's thought to make it appear modest considering the character background. It was still a baby pink dress, but nothing sparkly or too bright. Purposely, patches of different colors were sewn on to certain areas. The dress was short sleeved, but Dawn was planning on wearing a long sleeved white shirt underneath. It was simple and had sewn on buttons of white which was also the color of the collar. The skirt was to her ankles and had a small, slight poof to it, but nothing too much. A kind of poofy, orchid colored shirt was to be worn over the dress but under the collar and a brown cloak. A white apron was to be worn over, as well as a brown belt Misty felt had some vintage charm. Dawn texted Brock to see if he might possibly be able to give her wings, which Dawn claimed didn't need to be attached.

The dress looked manufactured from a movie set. Dawn thought of simple brown leggings and black flats to go along with simplicity. The outfit was simple, yet beautiful in a humble way. Misty could stare at it in awe all day if she wouldn't get aches and if she didn't have school.

Dawn woke up. "Morning," she stretched and got out of bed.

"Looks like you slept well," said Misty bitterly.

"I did actually—oh… " Dawn hadn't noticed Misty ended up sleeping on the floor.

"I have a headache," complained Misty, who then exploded into coughing fits.

"Don't go to school," Dawn said immediately.

"I need to," Misty argued back, but her case only weakened when she sneezed three times afterwards.

Dawn, however, grabbed the phone at the same time and called.

"Petalburg Academy? Hello, good morning. Misty Waterflower will not be attending class today, mark her as absent due to illness. Bye," Dawn said swiftly in a tone she hoped sounded mature.

"I can't do anything, can I? They just marked me as absent," Misty sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I love you though! Thank you, thank you, and thank you!" Getting out of bed and dropping the phone on the side table, Dawn reached her arms up and gave her friend a hug for helping her with the problem last night.

"No problem, but I won't say anytime. Next time,you'd better not forget something like this. If you do, then Drew's responsible for helping out," Misty proclaimed.

"I'll try not to!" sang Dawn as she ran out the room to go downstairs.

Misty merely walked into her own room and collapsed into her bed to sleep again.

"Achoo!"

* * *

><p>Dawn added the final touch of makeup to her face and smiled. Twirling around, she was in awe of her procrastination skills. Juniors and seniors were usually awarded the leading roles in the school plays and musicals; meaning the lead belonged to one from those grades. Since the moment Dawn could talk, it was her dream to be in one.<p>

When high school hit, those dreams were crushed. She didn't particularly like a certain play director, who also served as her dance instructor. The plays and musicals weren't her type as well. She loved the classic Broadway style plays, not the originally composed ones the school made. She wasn't a favorite, and as she auditioned she fully understood that she wouldn't get a part as a lead role, and probably any role for that matter.

She knew Ursula would land the lead role; she always received what she wanted.

Dawn wasn't keen on auditioning either, especially after seeing the play's script. Yet, Ms. Dubois technically blackmailed her students and anyone involved in fine arts to audition, or an essay would be issued.

The doorbell rang; Dawn lifted her dress a tad off the ground and walked down the stairs. She made out the face, Brock. Smiling, she opened the door.

Brock looked like a proud older brother as he grinned, "You've always looked like a princess without the outfit," he handed her the wings she requested. "Those will make you into a fairy,"

"Thank you so much," Dawn slipped her arms into the false wings and afterwards gave Brock a hug. "I don't know if I'll get the audition, but I hope I don't embarrass myself,"

Brock snorted, "You're going to get the audition. You'll nail it, and make the play worth watching,"

Dawn's eyes widened as she remembered the plot of the story, "The plot's horrible," she shuddered as she remembered her lines.

"I heard," Brock shivered as he remembered last year's play. "Your carriage awaits you, _Kiana_," he joked chirpily.

* * *

><p>"No one's really here… <em>P<em>_hew_," Dawn sighed in relief; as proud as she was of her work she didn't want to meet certain people that would give her bad vibes the whole day.

She had been reading the script the whole car trip, but saying the lines was harder than summoning upthe emotion to pull it off.

"I can't pretend to be her! I can't!" Dawn chanted with displeasure.

"Don't audition for the play then," a voice behind her grumbled with brisk annoyance.

Dawn paused her walking and stood in place.

"It was either this or an essay, and she hinted about extra credit for main role auditioning," Dawn rolled her eyes, albeit the guy was behind her and couldn't see.

"My counselor encouraged me to audition too, I said no. I'm here early for a retake. Well, bye, princess. But for God's sake I'm trying to do some extra reviewing so please moan about your forced audition softly," He coolly retorted, as if life used him as a symbol that audition, as well as theday,wouldn't go splendidly.

She huffed, "Good luck on your test; the reason you're upset is because you didn't study last night," she snarled in the most leveled voice she can produce.

As she gracefully walked away, she checked her phone and noticed a text from Paul.

_Paul: Don't embarrass yourself in your audition. I'll remember to pray you don't__…W__ell__,__I'll make a sincerely hearted attempt to__call,__as I have a test to take tomorrow._

In other words, he wished her luck in his own way. She answered back,

_Dawn: I hope you don't fail your test, or get anything lower than a__'__C__'__._

She steadily twisted her head to look back; no one was must have left, she thought to herself.

Dawn couldn't understand what caused her to naturally look back after reading the text; she continued to walk towards the auditorium for audiences, focusing on possibly earning extra credit. Her mind was mightily busy.

* * *

><p>"I think I might have overachieved in looking like trash," Dawn silently told herself, feeling one half proud, and two quarters regret and embarrassment.<p>

The others looked very nice and probably store bought. Dawn had a base dress and added some touches and a few layers. No one else attempted to appear "humble" as Dawn saw everyone else dressed up like a princess.

She held her dress up with her fingers as she walked to place herself in line, backstage. A TV set was present that let the backstage members see the auditions.

"Ms. Ursula Lafleur is next," Fantina announced with a sense of pride.

Ursula wore blue: Everyone wore blue. Outfits of the girls seemed to consist of mainly a blue dress over a long sleeved top with jackets unbuttoned. The boys were no different, wearing plain blue.

Some people gave Dawn stares, a couple complimented her and others giggled and placed a hand over their mouths as they whispered to one another.

Ursula had a grand costume, not one of the most extravagant, mind, but very beautiful nonetheless.

"I will be auditioning as Kiana, the main role," Dawn watched Ursula smile as the girl exhaled and began:

"Gino, as much as I love you I cannot be with you. I have a duty to my kingdom; I cannot marry you because you are to be married to someone else. I must marry Cory, he was the first born and our kingdom is struggling. I cannot run off with you: I want to, but I must marry him. It is not my wish, it is my destiny," Ursula wasn't bad at acting, but Dawn personally thought she looked stiff and insincere in a scene that required a lot of inner turmoil.

The lines for Gino were read, then it went back to Ursula's, three minutes later music began to play.

"Weneed to sing?" Dawn's jaws dropped, she didn't remember reading that in the script.

"No," a boy answered.

Ursula's voice was angelic, Dawn was distraught as she tried to list down things Ursula couldn't do.

_She's just great at everything isn't she?_ Dawn asked herself.

Dawn was next, Ursula's audition was probably the best for Kiana and Dawn figured, as she had originally, who would get the role.

She did want credit, and that's what it was primarily about.

She walked out; Fantina lifted a brow at her costume choice. The other "judges" looked quite impressed.

"Why isn't the outfit grand?" asked the art teacher, Erika.

Dawn smiled, "For a good part of the play she's a simple girl from a poorer area, something extravagant seemed out of place, and it's pink because she seems like a pink person," Dawn said confidently. Inside her mind she wanted to slap herself for the last two words.

"Did you design it yourself?" asked Jasmine, graphic design teacher.

"Yes," Noticing the looks on their faces she felt the need to elaborate. "I didn't make it from scratch, I had a base, I just added some layers. My friend helped me immensely,"

Fantina shuffled a couple papers before looking up and cueing Dawn to proceed.

Here goes nothing.

From the corner of her eyes she saw Ursula remaining, waiting to see how well Dawn could possibly match up. Dawn could see arrogance with the smirk, taunts with the laughter, and overall low standards prearranged for her.

It made her angry, and her desire to nail the audition intensified. Her intention to do great for extra credit as junior and senior year was definitely of higher importance than the previous years. She didn't want Ursula to beat her on this.

"Act two, scene six," Dawn announced with newfound determination and confidence.

There were a couple scenes that Dawn wanted to do, memorizing wasn't a concern: finding the strongest scene was.

"I don't care if you're the princess or a street rat like me!" Dawn yelled, unintentionally her glare focused on Ursula. "I won't allow you to cross me because I don't have a royal blood line! You treat the people as if we were just shoes in your ginormous collection! Shoes that you literally step on and control with your feet. I do not wish to be some shoe you can walk on, I am my own person and I will never let anyone—be it you or one of lower hierarchy!" Dawn's arms flared around as she spoke and again, unintentionally she was inching closer to the edge of the stage despite having been a good distance away.

Erika read Rani's lines, "How dare you talk that way to I, the princess! Say what you want, but I am in charge and have the power to do as I wish. Know your place, maid,"

_You forgot, you're just the product of an accident while I'm the star dancer, everything._

Ursula's lines replaced the dialogue, causing Dawn to tremble as Erika finished reading the lines.

"Princess by blood, yet your heart is one like the devils! You may have the power to do anything to me, but you cannot control what I think or feel in my heart. And what I feel is you are a wench of a princess!" Dawn exploded, shrieking the last part.

Erika's eyes widened before shuffling a paper on top to proceed, "I don't have the power, hmm?"

_My words don't affect you, hmm?_

Dawn rolled her eyes with the thought. "You don't have any power over me, torture me or take away salary because money earned here isn't worth it,"

"But you claim your family desperately needs money, you don't want your dear father to be arrested for the inability to pay taxes to the kingdom, do you?" Erika read emotionlessly.

Dawn wasn't able to think back on any instances involving Ursula, yet glaring straight at Ursula still ignited something within her.

"I'll find another way!" Dawn snarled, gritting her teeth for a second or two. "There are many jobs out there that would treat me better than this job does. I don't need your verbal abuse, Princess. My dignity is one thing I won't let you take. I've put up with this for far too long; I havebecome your slave. Find another innocent girl to torture, because I'm gone!" Dawn ripped off a name tag signifying Kiana's involvement and angrily turned her back and stomped out.

Erika read Rani's finally line, "Get out of my sight!"

Dawn had one last part to do, falling to her knees she let out a sorrowful cry. "I'm sorry father," her sobbing increased, She stared at the floor and let the tears rain down, "I want to help you, but I couldn't take her treatment!" She sloppily wiped her eyes, "I promise I will help you! I will work numerous jobs, I will work for us all!" she strongly cried out.

At the finish, she tilted her head up and saw Erika crying and Jasmine in total shock. Fantina didn't show any emotion, "Thank you, Dawn," and smiled faintly.

Dawn stood up and smiled as if she hadn't been crying moments ago, she escaped back to backstage where claps rang like bells. She got many positive feedback reviews, causing her to feel happy with her audition.

On the contrary, a particular girl that shared the same name as a Disney villain was out of words, and could only turn back quietly without any emotion.

* * *

><p><em>Paul: How did it go?<em>

_Dawn: I cried._

_Paul: Christ, you sure did get into it._

_Dawn: This girl that has this dislike towards me auditioned too. I couldn't stop thinking about her and I just wanted to give it my all._

_Paul: Well I guess rivalry sparks other emotions to burst. From what I recall you called the play a melodrama straight out of a novella or teleserye._

_Dawn: It still is._

_Paul: That woman just enjoys sentimental plays._

_Dawn: How do you know__…?_

He hadn't responded yet, but Dawn was fully convinced he was near her. He could be walking by her, in a class, but he was somewhere around.

"Who exactly are you, Paul?" she whispered with a sense of confusion looming around her tongue

The pieces weren't difficult to add up at all. He knew of people she knew, he knew of Fantina's overly dramatic plays. She wondered what he was like off text; did he retain the same personality traits? What if, she wondered, he lied about everything? _Am I part of__some kind of__social experiment?_

Dawn bit her lip as more questions than answers raced through her mind. Even as she walked through the halls her eyes couldn't stop from staring at any soul that passed her way: one of them could very well be a friend of hers that she had yet to meet.

"Where are you?"

* * *

><p>"I heard some girl cried in her audition," A kid snickered as he chatted with a friend.<p>

"I heard she made some teachers cry," The friend said.

Dawn didn't mention the part about the teachers but he knew she was the soul that became emotionally invested in the play. He couldn't deny it anymore, he was right, and she was in the thinking process of the said situation.

He had revealed too much accidentally—curse the retake he was obliged to take that resulted in loss of rest. He realized his mistake too late; in truth, Paul had the theory that Dawn was close by. The phone conversation displayed characteristics that his Dawn—'his' meaning his acquaintance—had.

Paul only needed to tell her who he was for both their lives to interlock. It was the honorable thing to do, as he held vital information within for a considerable amount of time.

"I know because we go to the same school. I'm the one who you spoke to on the phone," Paul read quietly.

He deleted the entire text.

Paul preferred things how they were.

_Reggie's eyes seemed to glow darker if that was logically possible; his body stiffened and without a shiver to his voice, he said, "You are just afraid of change,"_

_Paul eyes amplified with that little comment. Calming himself, he relaxed his frozen muscles and swiped the shocked appearance from his eyes. "I want to know who she is__,__but I believe she isn't close by—she isn't the one who attends my school,"_

_"You doubt yourself purposely, brother," Reggie quivered only his head in a swaying side motion._

_"I do not," Paul confidently denied._

_"You want to know who she is—and you have a clear chance right here. You have a suspicion; I do too," Reggie had never spoken like this to Paul in his life; he wasn't that type of person as he claimed. But in this situation, date, and time—he needed to raise his voice just a pitch more and speak his opinions bluntly._

_"I don't want to be oblivious, I just want to know. Simply that," Paul scowled; he was growing in annoyance._

Now he knew. _That_ was all he wanted… At least, that's what he told himself.

* * *

><p>Ash was going to do the right thing no matter the consequence. It didn't manner whatever Brianna threw out; it was probably just a bluff anyways. Besides, May didn't do anything wrong, she had no reason to feel guilty.<p>

"I also don't want drama to occur. I know Drew should know that his ex is crazy and is starting up rumors— "

_"Albeit you don't want to say, I have a feeling that rumors won't go away," said Misty. "I can't comprehend a single reason that seems valid enough, seems to me like you are giving millions of excuses. You seem afraid, that's all I can tell. Someone once told me that he didn't think reasons and reason were the same thing; I called him an idiot, but he made his point. He said reasons were just excuses while reason was the truth said person felt in their heart. He also said to look at fear with an eye-open, and you should face it but be cautious," Misty then smiled as if she remembered the time she heard the words._

Ash plopped to his seat, awaiting a certain redhead to come in. Some minutes passed before the bell rang, was she late? He thought. He scratched the wonder, Misty wouldn't be late. _Did__she__not come to school today?_ He groaned, knowing very well Misty couldn't answer that.

"Everyone except Ms. Waterflower is present?" Mr. Brown confirmed as he typed in the attendance.

_So she did __get sick last night,_ he thought again. For the whole class period he didn't have anyone that would occasionally glare at him and vice versa. She wasn't there and within the class of about eighteen, it felt like something was missing.

He even began to miss arguing with her.

Day one without Misty was halfway over as very few classes followed lunch.

"Ash," said Angie calmly.

"Hey," He greeted back.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. And recently I've been acting like a bitch," Angie bit her lip, admitting her faults.

"Yesterday's in the past, it's alright," he placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"I was thinking a lot, and I don't like my actions recently," Angie sighed, "I don't know what's been going on with me lately, but I don't want to continue this version of Angie." She began to cry lightly, a sight Ash hated to see.

He hugged her, "It's alright, just think before you speak. I know you're not like that,"

As the two pulled away, Angie kissed him again. Ash impulsively pushed off from the kiss a second into it. "I'm sorry,"

"Do you not like kissing?" asked Angie with a tiny spec of impatience.

Ash felt uncomfortable, but he didn't know how to kindly admit that without hurting her. "There's a lot of people here," he croaked.

"Kissing someone isn't abnormal; see, that couple over there is doing it," Angie stated matter-of-factly as she pointed at the pair mentioned.

"For me, I just don't feel comfortable kissing in front of so many people," Ash admitted in the most sugar-coated way he could think of.

"Are you embarrassed?" Angie asked with a twinge of sadness in her eyes.

"No! Not at all," Ash asserted quickly. He ran his hands through his hair, "It's just… As I said before, I don't feel comfortable with public displays of affection. I'd be uncomfortable with anyone, even seeing it is weird for me," he asserted, smiling boyishly afterwards.

"I hope that's the truth," Angie furrowed her eyebrows as she walked off to the table, brushing Ash off for the time being.

* * *

><p>"You're getting it," Drew complimented as May was now able to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb."<p>

"It's…so many keys, there aren't any labels either," May exhaled as she finished.

Drew only sneered.

"What?" May asked with confusion.

'No labels', really?" Drew laughed upon repeating what May had just said.

"If there were labels it would be easier; there are so many things to memorize," she huffed. Standing up, she walked to her backpack and grabbed her water bottle. The cool liquid felt nice, especially after surprisingly difficult work playing a song on the piano.

"Can you type with your eyes closed?" Drew asked.

"Yes. A lot of people probably can," May sealed her bottle again and slipped it back to the side of her backpack.

"You don't need to play the piano with your eyes closed but it's generally the same thing," Drew said as he sat on the piano bench.

"Keyboards have labels," May reminded as she plopped down next to him.

"But if your eyes are closed, do they matter?" Drew retorted. As May didn't respond Drew took it as a victory and only smirked.

"What is it now?" She hissed.

"You didn't respond back," He flipped his hair, the smirk still evident on his face. "The more you play the piano the better you get at remembering which keys correspond to what note. It's just repetition that leads to memorization," he stated.

"I figured," May placed her head between her hands. "You either memorize a song or play with a sheet which makes it hard to concentrate looking at the piano," May noted.

"You'll get the hang of it if you keep practicing," Drew said encouragingly. "But if you don't try, don't expect to understand it,"

"Was it this hard for you at first?" May asked with hopes that he was able to relate.

"Actually, no," Drew admitted. "I got it pretty easily,"

"Of course," May sighed. Drew was good at playing, it was obviously a talent that just became more polished with increased practice.

"You haven't been playing a long time. Remember that. If only you had accepted the offer a lot earlier," Drew sighed histrionically.

"Is there a limit for your free lessons?" May asked curiously.

"The day you feel you don't need them anymore," Drew answered steadily. "You can never finish learning about the piano, there's always something new to learn," he elaborated. "I can help you with the basics, but the day you feel you don't need guidance then I won't need to help any longer,"

May smiled, understanding what he meant, "Thanks."

Drew smirked back before a tiny pause came forth between them. A pause in which neither fidgeted nor dispatched their gaze, both embraced the silent little moment in which no words were needed.

"But that day might not be for a while," Drew teased casually, breaking the silent moment.

* * *

><p>Dawn felt her cheeks heat up as another person brought up her "emotional" audition. Between classes she caught a couple lengthy stares and whispers involving the certain incident.<p>

Having to walk across all the edges of the school took a lengthy amount of time, but Dawn didn't mind. If she were sick Misty would've done the same thing to ensure she didn't miss out too much.

The hallway where her locker rested was barely-filled with people, the majority of which didn't seem to care about her presence to Dawn's pleasure. She felt not only embarrassed at the attention it received, but hurt because of couple jokes she heard regarding it.

Dawn just wanted to go home. She entered in the combination and began to sort out the books and notebooks needed and the materials she didn't need—at least for the day. "History, Math, Italian, and Science," she hummed as she stuffed the needed supplies into her pink backpack which she swung through her arms. Tidying up the locker just a tad, she took one last glance before closing it.

"Dawn," Ash called out from behind her.

"Hmm?" Dawn murmured as she looked back behind her, "Ash?"

"Why wasn't Misty in school today?" He asked quickly.

Dawn raised an eyebrow at his concern before her lips curled into a smile, "No need to worry! She's sick, but it's nothing serious," she chanted in a way a cheerleader might.

Realizing how loud she just spoke, she felt flustered once again.

"I-I'm not worried," said Ash, kind of stuttering, "I mean I am! I knew it was probably just a common cold but I do care. Not care as in I worry over everything in her life but care as in, I… Never mind," Ash sighed, being unable to straighten out his thoughts.

Dawn winked, "Your secret's safe with me," she assured.

Ash grunted and merely scratched his head. He didn't come to discuss Misty, he was just curious, that was all. After parading around the school he couldn't find Drew, whom he did see before but Ash, trying to figure out the best way to explain the situation, let the moment slip by.

He bit his lower lip, "I didn't come here to talk about Misty," He said with a more serious tone.

Dawn took notice of his sudden change of body language, "What's wrong?" she asked with evident concern.

"I'll walk you out," Ash offered.

Dawn, believing Ash was going to reveal something about his feelings, nodded.

The two strolled through the emptying hallways with occasional words. Ash couldn't quite find the voice to say a thing, which he dreaded. To him, it was as if there was a boulder on his shoulder. Hurting someone wasn't his forte, even if the person had the right to know.

It wasn't about the threats anymore. Ash didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"Maybe one day we can have get-together. Misty might have gotten sick but yesterday was a nice day. Only thing I would change is the whole classroom break-in attempt. But it was cute watching both of you stress over getting each other as a partner for your romantic play," Dawn added cheerfully.

"Uh, it's a romantic tragedy," Ash corrected. "I've heard your cooking's great, so I'm not going to say no to a chance to try it," he said. "I also want to see if you're as great as they say," he scoffed light-heartedly.

Sometimes Ash couldn't wrap his mind around aspects of life. Dawn was kind; she seemed like the type that wouldn't hurt anyone. Yet she was, unfortunately, a target of some psychotic girl's jealousy. Ash regretted his inability to tell Drew, he had an eerie feeling Dawn might be more affected.

"It is," Dawn mused. "Well, it's decent enough to be eaten, but you'll be the judge of how great it is," she sang.

But… He had to. He knew it was the just thing to do.

"Hey, Dawn: About what I need to say—"

"I know," she interrupted calmly, abruptly stopping her feet from walking any further.

"You… Know?" Ash gasped, his eyes widen as to how she already knew.

Dawn's lips curled into smile, "It's about Misty, right? I can tell it's something serious and the only reason you'd bring it up to me is if it's something about her—"

It was Ash's turn to interrupt. "It isn't about her," he informed.

Dawn's eyes enlarged, she had no clue as to what he was trying to say anymore.

Ash exhaled, "Yesterday, a girl named Brianna sat at my table and told us some things," he began to narrate.

Dawn tilted her head downward, "Brianna?" She leveled her head once again, her expression hardened and she was ready to listen.

Ash nodded slowly, "She knew May had been hanging out with Drew recently and she told us that she had gone out with Drew before. She told us that he was horrible and ignored her feelings," he explained slowly. He paused once again, thinking of how to explain the next part in a way that won't hurt her too much.

Dawn rolled her eyes at Brianna's lies.

"She said that he was close to both Misty and you," Ash commented.

As images of Brianna's attempts to deceive flew back, he remembered how he too had judged. It was hypocritical, he wasn't thinking at the time, he was just worried.

He ended up getting slapped by Misty after the two argued for some time. Remembering what he had said and especially how he acted, he cringed.

"Dawn," Ash spoke, "She told me that you two had a thing going on the when they were dating. She told us that you two were affectionate and also that Drew used an unreasonable reason to break up with her so he can openly be with you," he croaked.

Dawn's eyes pained with every word he said.

"I… Thank you for telling me," Dawn mumbled meekly. Her arms were jittering and her eyes looked saddened.

"I should've told you sooner," Ash said with regret dripping off his voice.

"It's alright, don't feel bad or anything. You did the right thing, telling me the tr-truth," Dawn shakily tried to reassure.

Her eyes were watering, trembling, she was trying to hold it in but Ash could tell that her ability to cry at the moment worked both ways: purposely and through actual sadness.

"For the record I don't believe a single word she said," Ash soothed. "You're such a nice person and she's obviously whack,"

Dawn tried to smile, but her tears had started to fall. "W-Why me-e?" she cried softly. "Wha-why am I always everyone's target?"

"Don't cry," Ash said sorrowfully.

"I-I'm so-sorry, you can go. It's g-getting late," Dawn stuttered as she wiped away some tears.

Ash placed a hand on her shoulder, "I can't just leave you here like this,"

"I s-should get going also," she sniffled, "Bye," she walked off, still crying.

Ash clenched his fist as he looked upon her sadly.

_Was I right?_

* * *

><p>Ash had caught up to her and offered to walk her home, but she declined and told him not to feel like he did the wrong thing.<p>

But he still felt that way.

He barely knew her, but even if had known her less, he would still feel horrible.

It was four forty in the afternoon when he finally got home. He continued to look as if he had justcome home from a funeral. Quietly, he inserted the keys and twisted the knob slowly. To his surprise, he saw Drew awaiting him.

"Drew?" Ash swallowed a lump in his throat. The green-haired boy didn't look happy.

"I've been waiting for ages," Drew commented.

"I should've told you, not her. I had a feeling you'd take it better but I just couldn't find the right words," Ash apologized as he took a seat across from Drew on the leather sofa.

Drew raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Ash blinked, so he didn't know? He thought.

"I told Drew what happened," May revealed as she walked into the room. "He insisted on coming to talk to you about what she said,"

"Everything?" asked Ash curiously.

"Yes," Drew answered for May, "Before anything, what do you mean by your last sentence?"

Ash frowned, "I told Dawn first,and… She didn't take it well," he admitted, remembering her face pre-revelation and after.

"Whether you told her or not, she would've found out eventually," May said, trying to reassure her friend he didn't do anything wrong.

"Just as May said," Drew commented. "Listen, I'm not going to beat you up. Take that picture out of your mind. Could I? Yes. Will I? No, you did nothing,"

"What do you want to take about?" asked Ash.

"Brianna and I dated. She wasn't that bad at first, just persistent. I wasn't forced into a relationship, I gave her a chance. She was possessive and easily jealous. Misty and Dawn are both my friends and we are close. We're like a family, okay? Whatever she told you isn't true because she willingly kissed whoever the guy was," Drew elaborated.

"I didn't believe her for a second," May spat as she remembered how Brianna acted.

"I was going to break up with her eventually, I just wasn't ready and I didn't like how she was beginning to threaten Dawn and Misty, especially the former. Dawn, Misty, and Leaf personally stalked her and if Leaf explained the story to you, she was bored in the relationship or something," Drew finished.

"What the Hell is this, a soap opera?" Paul grumbled as he stepped into the room.

"You!" Drew remarked, remembering his initial encounter with Paul.

"Paul?" May cocked her head to the side with confusion.

Paul wasn't the type to involve himself in things, as to why he bothered paying attention, both May and Ash were clueless.

"Christ, why is Dawn always the target? First, she's robbed by Ursula. Second, she's positioned as some mistress in whatever drama you're explaining. And lastly, she's made fun of because her audition turned emotional," Paul shook his head, "Why not you or your other friend for a change? It's boring how it's always her,"

"Why are you suddenly interested?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not. But I have nothing to do, so please, elaborate,"

"I can't explain the first and second part, but as for the third, a guy liked Misty and was openly trying to go out with her," Drew explained. "I think that's why she didn't see Misty as a threat,"

_"Did a boy break your heart, ever?" asked Ash. The question could be seen as inappropriate, but it suddenly seemed to pop into his mind. She had reasons to be the way she was, Ash wanted to know who caused them._

_"That," said Misty, "is none of your business," she spat coldy._

"Did he go out with her?" Ash interjected suddenly.

Drew snorted, "Now, why do you care?

"So I assume Dawn's never had a boyfriend, and therefore, Brianna assumed the most innocent was the least?" Paul suggested emotionlessly. At Drew's failure to respond, Paul repeated the question.

"Sorry but I can't quite understand the intuitive of a psychotic individual," Drew sarcastically apologized, "Dawn never had a boyfriend or went on a date, even one-time dates. Her mom won't allow her, but that's another story for another time,"

"Has Misty?" Ash asked.

Drew flipped his hair, "Ask her. That's her business," Drew swung his backpack onto his back and was prepared to leave—

"You mentioned a guy that was trying to get her to go out with him," Ash reminded.

Drew smirked, "Listen; Misty has had a lot of admirers," It almost seemed as if Drew mentioned that to provoke Ash a little more.

"Why is he so concerned with her dating history?" May questioned aloud, to the only other person in the room, Paul.

"I don't know, nor do I care," Paul answered before walking upstairs.

"Who was he? Brianna wasn't threatened at all? Even if she had a million guys, that guy must have succeeded, didn't he?" Ash asked in an almost desperate tone.

Drew chuckled, "Later," He glanced at May before he walked out.

"Hey, come back!" Ash called out.

"Ash, why are you concerned?" May giggled. What started out serious turned light-hearted quite quickly.

"I was just curious," Ash felt flustered as he realized how he sounded trying to find out who the guy was.

"It's not abnormal for someone to date, you're in a relationship," May brought up.

"I know, but.."

"You saw what happened with Drew, right?" May said in a lower, more serious voice.

"Yes,"

"Don't repeat it, for Angie's sake and yours," May pleaded. "I know how you two got together. Angie's not a bad person. Ash, she really does like you. Please, don't hurt her by staying in a relationship with her. I can see you aren't interested and don't let it to lead to how things went between Brianna and Drew," May advised, she tilted her head up and paused for a moment.

"May, I think you're right. I didn't want to hurt her by rejecting her," Ash admitted. "I care for her, but I don't think I love her,"

"Be honest with your feelings, I'm sure she'll understand. I also don't want things to become like they did between Gary and me," May revealed in a voice full of sorrow.

"I won't do what Gary did to her," Ash promised.

"I wonder what became of him and that girl he cheated on me with. I was sad for a long time, I told him so many private things and I didn't want to believe it at first. I couldn't. But it was reality. I heard they were together after graduation; I guess she was the one for him," May huffed, smiling sadly.

The mention of the girl that Gary ended up with reminded Ash of a secret he also kept.

"Doubt it. He plays around with girls' hearts for fun. One day he'll meet someone who won't return his feelings. You were way too good for him," Ash said, trying to cheer her up as she drowned in painful memories. "The past is the past, right?" He playfully tapped her shoulder.

May's lips formed a small smile, "Right,"

It hadn't worked for quite some time. Her mom apparently remembered to call and make sure the number became invalid or something.

At least, he had gotten to know her over the whole fiasco.

"You didn't know, he played you both," Ash said aloud as he awaited her response.

* * *

><p><em>MW: Your friend is right. Break up with her.<em>

As far as names were concerned, the only real name known was Dawn. Partly why Ash felt empathy towards Dawn Berlitz was because of the fact that he knew a clumsy girl named Dawn. They didn't talk often, but they had talked a couple times. He knew for a fact Paul talked to her, but Ash was clueless as to how often.

_Cinderella Man: She mentioned you. She wondered if you're both still together._

_MW: Haha no. We're not. You don't know how much I want to apologize for the whole situation, I don't know how she may take it but I just wish she knew I didn't know he had a girlfriend. I should've paid more attention to the rumors but after many instances, gossip became an unreliable source._

Ironically, she was right. Events like the Brianna fiasco proved it.

_Cinderella Man: I think you're right for ignoring the gossip. It isn't right. You wouldn't believe what had happened these last two days._

_MW: What happened? I have been sick since yesterday. My friend had a project and I helped last night. Yesterday I also did something stupid that I'd rather not bring up because it was stupid._

_Cinderella Man: It can't be worse than breaking into a teacher's classroom._

_MW: That too._

_Cinderella Man: You did that also?_

_MW: Yeah. It's too embarrassing to elaborate on even further._

Great minds think alike, Ash thought.

_Cinderella Man: Anyways, my friend is getting closer to this other guy. I think he makes her happy__,__but there's a problem: He has a crazy ex-girlfriend._

_MW: Is she threatening?_

_Cinderella Man: Kind of. I'm protective over my friend and I don't want her to get hurt._

_MW: Let an adult know, you can't just let that slip by. Threatening is going way too far._

_Cinderella Man: Her threatening is just, "I'll tell everyone she slept with him!"_

_MW: Seriously? That's pathetic on so many levels. What is this, a movie from the nineties?_

_Cinderella Man: You know what__;__my life is starting to become one._

_MW: I'm sorry._

_Cinderella Man: Not just by her, by him. He has a friend and I have a complicated relationship with her._

_MW: Friends with benefits?_

Ash blushed as his eyes scanned the text. He quickly rolled his fingers across the keyboard to deny it.

_Cinderella Man: No!_

_Cinderella Man: Actually, we're barely friends._

_MW: I'm just teasing, relax._

_Cinderella Man: I did meet an old friend that I had a huge crush on when I was younger._

_MW: I have too many comments about your life love that I can't pick one._

_Cinderella Man: What about yours?_

_MW: Currently non-existent. Until it does__,__I guess I'll help you with yours. You were guilt-tripped into a relationship__:__I can't believe you accepted. Cinderella__,__you have to fix that. And don't you dare make her try to break up with you. If you do__,__I'll personally hunt you down for that. Confront the issue; it'll be less hurtful in the long run._

_Cinderella Man: I'll try to. Cinderella, really?_

_MW: The name stuck. =)_

_Cinderella Man: Almost forgot, something else happened involving this really nice girl._

_MW: How many future girlfriends do you have?_

_Cinderella Man: I barely know her yet I made her cry._

_MW: You have a great effect on__women__._

_Cinderella Man: I told her about the gossip involving her and she cried._

_MW: Then it isn't your fault. You didn't make her cry at all._

Ash scrolled back up their chat log. Usually they didn't discuss the drama within their lives but he had to let some feelings out, and she was the one he trusted to listen and advise.

_Cinderella Man: I'm sorry our whole conversation became about my troubles._

_MW: It's fine. You barely complain, I complain much more often. I owe you this one time. I have some homework to do and I have to get going. Talk to you later._

_Cinderella Man: Bye, feel better. Drink soup or something. (:_

_MW: Okay c:_

* * *

><p><em>Paul: She used to teach at the former highschool of my cousin. Her actions remain<em>_,__albeit her high school changed._

So Dawn was wrong, he just knew of her, he didn't go to her school.

She closed her phone and wiped her eyes once more. She didn't want to go anywhere or do anything.

"Why me?" she questioned. "What did I ever do to her or anyone?" she squeaked.

She heard a slow knock coming from the door.

"Dawn," The voice called.

"Come in, Drew," she said, whimpering between words.

The two felt awkward to be together all of sudden due to certain falsehoods that came from Ms. Brianna. Drew scratched his head as the silence continued.

Finally, Drew decided to say something, "I heard what happened."

"I did too," Dawn murmured.

"I don't care what she says, because I know none of is true," Drew spoke up, "You shouldn't either," he advised.

"I know I shouldn't, but I do," Dawn said in a low voice. "I think I know why also."

Drew shook his head, "It's not you, she wanted a scapegoat for her twisted narrative."

"How many people know? So it wasn't because I cried in my theater performance, it was because everyone heard what she told Ash and others!" Dawn's breathing increased as she cried heavily.

"Dawn..." Drew said under his breath.

"I-I'm going out for a walk," Dawn slipped into sneakers and walked passed Drew.

"It's late, don't go out. Curfew is pretty soon," Drew reminded, but his words did nothing to stop her.

* * *

><p>"That," Misty then coughed, "betch," Misty cleared her throat afterwards, the sickness still seemed to remain.<p>

"It's almost eleven, where the Hell is Dawn?" Drew glanced out the window yet he saw no figure.

"She neebed time to tink, but she should hab stayed in here," [sic] Misty coughed out.

Drew chuckled.

"Itch not my pault," Misty groaned. "Drew, gib me a tibshoe," Raising her arm she pointed at the new box of tissues on her desk.

He clutched it with his fingers before throwing it up in the air and catching it once more. "Catch," he teased, raising it as if to throw at her

"No," she grumbled, pulling the sheets over her head.

"I'm kidding," Drew snorted.

"Nup punny," Misty exclaimed, which led to her green-haired friend to laugh even more.

The door swung open, "I'm back," Dawn shouted, seemingly in higher spirits.

"She seems better," Drew remarked.

Misty took out her phone and began to text something:

_Misty: I'm so glad she's better, what happened? Ask her for me._

Drew smirked, "You can talk, why you don't ask her yourself?"

Misty pouted and continued to text:

_Misty: I won't talk for as long as I sound congested._

Dawn, upon closing the door, quickly ran up the stairs.

"Misty, did you eat yet?" she asked eagerly.

"Yes I did", Drew read. "Are you feeling better? Was the walk really that helpful"?

Dawn furrowed her eyebrows, "Did she lose her voice?"

"Nah, she just sounds funny," Drew answered.

Misty groaned.

"How did she get so sick in the first place?" Dawn asked, lightly tapping her chin.

"Don't ask, I'm not going to die and you still never answered my question. How are you"?

Dawn only smiled.

"Waft haffened?" Misty mumbled.

"I'm sorry I made you both worried, I just needed some time to think. Plus, I had a conversation with someone who helped me realize many things," Dawn began.

Drew and Misty exchanged blank stares.

"Who?"

* * *

><p>AN: I've been extremely busy with school this year and the last. I wish my hiatuses weren't this long; I'm going to try my hardest this year. I know I can't apologize; I just have been super busy.

Oh, and just so you know the quiz thing still remains. Basically, guess who will find out about the whole anonymous-friends ordeal next.

Question, other than the obvious, (Paul, Reggie, Dawn)

Who do you think will know who "M.W", "Cinderella Man", Prince Charming", and Dawn (nickname less, lol) really are next? And if they don't already know about the situation... Who will know?

Drew, Ash, May, Angie, Leaf, Misty, Ursula?

Anyone who gets it right will get a preview for it sent via PM. I won't say when it'll be yet but soon. I think you all will know in chapter 16. And right after I post the chapter before the answer is revealed; I'll write the next part immediately after and PM it. According to my outline, next chapter is the deadline c:

First thing: I apologize for the horrible made-up-at-the-moment play. I honestly laughed while writing it because it sounded like something straight out of a telenovea/teleserye/soap opera. And yes, I made the plot corny purposely xD.** My family constantly has this Filipino channel on (TFC) and well, the main plot basically involves the switching of kids.**

Second: This was by far my longest chapter. The main shippings are Poke followed by Ikari, but Contest is definitely included and a main pairing. As for now, I'm obviously focusing more on Dawn, Paul, and Ikari friendship. Poke is coming along and Contest I won't neglect. Judging that this chapter included the three ships mentioned, I think that attributes to the high word count. My outlines are actually page-long detailed, and I follow my outlines completely lol. Within the two years I have changed a little also, there are things that I liked/didn't like from what I did in the past. One may the dynamics within May/Paul/Ash. When I was younger I had an idea on how to the end story but there were things that weren't quite crystal clear. That was one of them, and I would love to edit some chapters there because I believe I couldn't quite pin-point how I wanted to portray them and it was definitely different than my clear path now.

Third: I hope all of you are doing well c:. It's been a while.

Anddd I'm going to go study History. Bye :D


	15. Reversed Roles

It's been..a shorter while:D I would have updated sooner but school became busy and our first quarter just ended. I also want to take the moment to say RIP to the father of my friend, he passed away last month. RIP Tito;(

This chapter was kind of filler, but it sets the scene for next chapter. There are some things that kind of foreshadow what happens next.

Ready to Fly-Thank you for your review:D

Chapter 15:

* * *

><p>"Who?"<p>

"This guy I met on my walk," Dawn elaborated.

Drew and Misty exchanged questioning looks, "What's hisf name?" Misty interrogated

Taking note of her friends' body language, Dawn sighed, "What's with the suspicious looks?"

Drew spoke first. "Dawn, you took a walk at around nine in the evening. Not many people are out during that time," Drew explained.

"Reason numbah two," added Misty as she raised two fingers, "It sounds as ip he made you peel better but you didn't gib any names. Is he a stran-gur?" she questioned in her congested voice.

"I didn't know his name at all. It was the first time I ever met him, but I think I know who he is," Dawn squealed under her breath, placing her hands over her mouth to conceal her excitement.

"Was he old or young?" Drew asked.

"Young, his hair kind of went to his shoulders," Dawn answered with an uncontained smile.

Drew nodded as he mentally went through male faces from his memory, males with hair that fell to their shoulders more specifically. Only particular image caught his attention: Paul, the friend of May and Ash.

"Who do you think he is?" Drew asked, flipping his hair with his fingers.

"Prince Charming," Dawn answered. "The guy I've been talking to through text,"

Drew's eyes widened. Dawn felt that Paul was the guy she had become close with over text? If it was indeed Paul then that would mean…

"Impossifle," Misty coughed out as she pushed a textbook to the side.

It would mean that Ash was Cinderella Man and that May dated Gary. By May having dated Oak it also meant Gary dated both at the same time, which could cause some tension between two friends of his.

Drew saw Misty from the corner of his eye as she tried to adjust her position in bed, she was no means in good enough condition to go to school. He thought of Gary and how Drew knew he was bad news,but Misty didn't listen. He thought of May, a new friend of his whose company he enjoyed. Their history wasn't as far back as his with Misty, but Drew cared about her nonetheless.

Ash might just know every single secret Misty had, Drew didn't exactly go through both of their text messages daily yet he could tell his friends were close to those two mysterious males. But Ash was different than Cinderella Man, if Ash finds out; Drew wondered what would happen with the two of them. They had two relationships; one of friendship, the other of complication that Drew teased could be a romance. He only meant to tease, but maybe the idea wasn't as far-fetched.

"Maybe you're right, but he looked like how I imagined him to be! Black hair, glasses—"

Drew's head tilted upward the moment Dawn began to describe "Prince Charming's" outward appearance in more specifically. Paul did not have glasses nor was he black haired, indicating that Paul could not be the mysterious male number two. Ash wasn't Cinderella Man, May didn't date Gary, and things were not going to become overly-complicated.

He breathed a sigh of relief, flipping strands of hair back once again.

Drew loved being right, but this time he felt it were better if he were wrong. Besides, no one would know he was wrong as he did not announce his theory.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you're ready to go to school?" Drew asked as he dipped his fork into the blueberry pancakes Dawn had prepared for them.<p>

"I've missed a total of ten tests during the seven school days I've missed," Misty snarled, "I can't afford to miss any more days." Misty took a long sip of the warm tea before running off, dropping the blue mug in the sink.

Misty's "flu" turned out to be a stomach flu which left her sick for quite a lot longer than she originally expected. Being in AP classes didn't quite cooperate with her need to become well again as the schoolwork piled up by the day.

"Misty's actually caught up with the school work, but not the actual tests," Dawn said nonchalantly as she finished her pancakes. "I caught her working instead of resting on many occasions,"

Drew chuckled, "She would've gotten back to school earlier had she rested more," he said amidst chewing in a tone loud enough for Misty to hear.

"And if you choke from that I have some right to scold you for not waiting until you finished chewing," Misty retorted as she brushed her teeth with one hand, fixing her hair with the other.

Dawn sighed, "Misty do you need me to do your hair?"

"No, I'm fine," Misty answered as she also tried to slip on her knee socks.

Dawn stood up, "Don't be stubborn," she chastised as walked up the stairs with the intention of helping her friend.

"Dawn just wants an excuse to do her hair," Drew mumbled to himself.

He was right; Dawn took the comb and began to comb out Misty's red hair while the said redhead looked down with defeat.

Humming as she worked, Dawn braided two small strands on both sides of her head and eventually connected the two pieces in the center.

"Your hair is pretty when it's down," Dawn complimented with a wink.

"Eh, it's not my style," Misty muttered as she walked into the bathroom to rinse out the toothpaste. She needed to leave early if she wanted to finish taking two tests in the morning; she'd then need to stay later in order to finish the majority of her tests and quizzes.

Dawn opened up her phone to see a new text message from Paul. She hadn't confronted him over why he told her they didn't go to the same school together, she figured he had a reason to hide it from her.

_Paul: Dear God I can't stand kids, the thought of having them infuriates me._

_Dawn: I guess you don't have any interest in having them._

_Paul: Zero._

_Dawn: I love children!_

_Paul: What a surprise, you already possess the qualities of a mother._

_Dawn: Aww, thank you._

_Paul: Meaning you are practically a housewife._

_Dawn: Okay just because I sew, make clothes, cook, do the laundry…maybe you have a small point._

_Paul: MW and your other friend can fit the children role well._

_Dawn: So, all I'm missing is a husband to complete the domesticated housewife image? -.-_

_Paul: Yes._

Dawn raised an eyebrow as she tried to recall how children became a conversation between the two of them.

"Oh, right," Dawn expressed as she read the early conversation. Dawn sent a picture of a popular toy she loved as a kid to which Paul expressed his opposing opinion. The conversation eventually turned into a discussion of their childhoods:

_Paul: I wasn't exactly permitted to participate in some activities "normal" boys tend to partake__in__._

_Dawn: Why not?_

_Paul: I did do basketball and soccer, yet I eventually quit those during childhood. I do partake in basketball currently, but only because I possess some freedom now._

_Dawn: You play sports?_

_Paul: It's not my favorite__pastime__activity but yes, I do. Well__, 'did'__may be a more appropriate answer as I am not planning on rejoining this year._

Dawn thought of the man she suspected to be him, if that were Paul he didn't quite look like the sports type.

_Dawn: I dance, kind of._

_Paul: Thought you disliked sports with a burning passion._

_Dawn: It's not my favorite activity either. It was a better option than swimming or gym. Worst of all, this girl named Ursula happens to be in my class. She makes my life horrible and has this hatred I don't quite understand._

_Paul: She must take dance more seriously than you happen to. As much as you dislike it, you may not be bad at it._

_Dawn: Were you good in basketball?_

_Paul: Yes__,__but like mentioned it is not my favorite activity._

_Dawn: Why couldn't you do what you wanted as a child? Was your father that harsh?_

_Paul: Eh, he preferred I study books instead of game strategies. I am expected to take over his beloved business after all._

_Dawn: Do you really want to?_

_Paul: What else can I do with my life? I was born for this purpose after all._

_Dawn: Your brother, why isn't he taken into consideration?_

_Paul: My father does not believe my elder brother is biologically his son. Don't ask why, because I am oblivious to that._

_Dawn: Life isn't just about taking over a family business, if you don't want to; you should get the chance to say no. Also, no DNA test?_

_Paul: Maybe there was, but my knowledge is limited with that aspect. I just know he does not believe he has two sons. As far as life, I don't see what else I can do in place of taking over the business._

_Dawn: What are you interested in?_

_Paul: I don't know._

_Dawn: Have you ever thought of being a writer? You seem like you read a lot._

_Paul: I'm not exactly creative, though I do enjoy literature._

_Dawn: There must be things you like doing. The thought of you having to spend your whole life doing something you are forced into doesn't sit well with me._

_Paul: Don't stress over whatever problems you think I may possess, I'll be fine. On the other hand, you have a problem, focus on that before others._

_Dawn: My problem?_

_Paul: Problems to be more accurate, one of which you mentioned just now._

_Dawn: Ursula?_

_Paul: Yes, the cursed Disney octopus herself._

_Dawn: She isn't the worst I've encountered. That Brianna girl takes the prize after what happened nearly two weeks ago._

Dawn and Drew haven't had a proper confrontation with Brianna, for one, they couldn't find her. Secondly, Dawn tried to forget the incident as it placed her in a negative state that the boy she'll call "Paul" helped her get out of.

Yet the Paul she knows and the Paul she had met have some differences, Dawn attributes that quality to the difference with speaking and just texting. "Paul" sounded intelligent, didn't dress extravagant, and was polite, maybe a little more so than Prince Charming, also known as Paul. Then again, Dawn speculates he knows who she is and she can assume that he tried to act a bit differently so Dawn won't see the connection.

"I know what you're trying to do, Paul," Dawn whispered as she closed her phone and tucked it into her skirt's pocket.

"Dawn, I'm pretty sure you didn't see your Prince Charming during your walk," Misty chimed in.

Drew could perfectly hear their conversation as he was filling up a pink watering can that belonged to his mother originally. He was convinced that the boy Dawn knew was either the one she saw or back in Twinleaf. In truth, he couldn't stop the thought about Paul and Ash being them from rushing into his mind like a waterfall. He figured, after some thinking, that Paul being the one Dawn knew wasn't a bad idea. His problem lay with what could occur if Ash is Cinderella Man; Dawn and Paul weren't connected but the other two were.

Drew, however, kept denying the thought. He wanted to believe that there were just coincidences that caused an illusion in his mind to magically appear, an illusion that everyone was connected.

_Drew, just water the flowers and stop overthinking_, the young man thought to himself.

He sprinkled water over the petite flowers that rested in the window sill before moving on to the ones up front. Autumn was coming and Drew knew that the cooler air would soon lead to the flowers' annual demise.

"Drew?"

The sudden voice amidst the quiet atmosphere caused his shoulders to pop up, "What?" Drew spat with annoyance before turning around.

"Sorry if I scared you," May apologized, waving her hand.

"I'm just surprised you're here this early in the morning. No need to apologize, you didn't scare me at all," Drew amended as he paused his work temporarily.

"Really? Not one bit?" May leaned in closer and playfully elbowed him in the chest.

"Why would I be scared in the first place?" Drew asked, flipping his hair.

"I don't know, but your shoulders went up so I thought I frightened you," said May while swinging around am empty straw basket.

"So what brings you here, May?" Drew asked in order to stop the conversation about whether or not May had frightened him.

"Can I pick some flowers?" she asked.

"Sure," Drew answered before turning his back once more to continue his watering.

"Ash wanted to get some flowers for Misty but he forgot to buy some and he doesn't want to ask you," May revealed.

Swiveling back to face May, Drew then smirked, "I'm not that scary am I?"

May shrugged, "He just asked me to grab some flowers and bring them back,"

"For Misty, hmm? I didn't think he'd miss fighting with her so badly he wants to buy flowers for her," Drew joked.

May smiled, "Don't tell Ash I told you this but he confessed that it's weird to not see her," she revealed with a giggle.

Drew placed the water can on the grass, "He has a girlfriend, Angie, doesn't he?"

May nodded, "I'm pretty sure that is just a friendly gesture,"

Drew creased his eyebrow, as far as friendly gestures go; Drew understood the line between friendship and romance.

Well maybe it would make sense if Ash was Cinderella Man, but that would mean he knew who Misty was.

"Are you alright, you look bothered?" May pointed out.

"No!" Drew quickly responded. "Tired, that's it,"

"There's something you're not saying," May observed as Drew's attention turned to the sky. "Drew?" she said in a low voice, but he did not respond. "Drew!" she yelped.

Drew lost his train of thought and blinked quickly for a couple moments, "Nice to see how concerned you are over me," he said with a smirk, "but you have no reason to be paranoid,"

"No reason? You were acting funny," said May.

Drew shrugged, "Probably your imagination,"

Noticing the empty watering can, Drew pivoted his body in order to fill it up once more. As he was about to enter the door he felt something haul him back out.

May had pulled his arm back, "You're acting like G—never mind," she was about to say before stopping herself midway.

"Like who?"

May sighed, "Nothing, forget I said anything,"

Drew turned to face May, "And I'm the one acting funny?" he said sarcastically.

"It's nothing, really," May shrugged off.

"Bye Drew, hi, er… bye, May?" Misty called out as slid her backpack on.

"Bye," said both in union.

To them, Misty picked a great time to come out and cut the conversation.

* * *

><p>He wanted to give her something, it was only right to, and frankly, he kind of missed her. He imprinted on his mind that his actions were not because of anything out of the ordinary and instead out of good will. When he entered the classroom he not only had this backpack but an opaque plastic bag filled with lilies from Misty, Drew, and Dawn's garden. Simple, pink pastel colored lilies—not red roses to signify a romance.<p>

"Misty, you're back! I haven't seen you for a while," Bel greeted as she twirled her pencil in the air.

"Indeed, welcome back Ms. Waterflower;it's good to see you're feeling better. As for homework, I believe our arrangement is an after school discussions to what you've missed during your absence," Mr. Brown remarked as he shuffled through papers within his filing cabinet.

"Yes, but I can't stay too long. I have an Algebra II/Trigonometry test after school also," said Misty as she gently set her bag on the floor.

"It won't take too long, as far as tests and quizzes go; we'll arrange the times and dates fairly quickly,"Mr. Brown replied as he sat down by his computer, busily moving his fingers across the keyboard.

"Welcome back Misty," Angie greeted.

Misty's jaws dropped upon the first word Angie breathed out, "Thank you?" Misty said in a slightly confused tone. She began to contemplate the possibilities of why Angie seemed nicer towards her; the only idea that came to mind was that the "Angie" in her class was not the actual Angie but rather a good twin. Misty deemed that to be one of the only logical explanations for the girl's sudden kindness.

"Listen, I'm incredibly sorry about everything that happened between us before," Angie apologized with sincerity seemingly within her words.

Misty zipped open her bag to pull out a floral designed notebook, "it's fine," Misty assured as she ducked her head beneath her desk to pull out her pencil case. In truth she barely had time to properly form her thoughts regarding the sudden attitude change, her mindset was aimed towards the ton of work she missed.

"Class, today is a project workday, please use your time wisely," Mr. Brown said with a smile as he turned to face his pupils.

Everyone nodded and began to lift chairs in order to go to their partners. Ash dragged his chair by Misty while wrapping the handles of the plastic bag on his wrist.

"Long time no see," Ash greeted as he took a seat, fiddling around with the plastic bag.

"It's only been approximately ten days," Misty said with a chuckle, "It's not like we haven't seen each other for a year."

Ash began to shake his head, "Those ten days almost equal two weeks, meaning that's not much time left for this play."

Misty rolled her eyes and placed her pen between her ear and head, "We haven't even started," she leaned in and whispered.

Ash leaned in closer, "What do we do? Procrastinate?"

Misty shook her head, "It's vital we meet this week, say… Saturday?"

"Works for me," Ash agreed. He suddenly remembered to give her the plastic bag full of lilies, holding his arm out, he slid the bag to the grip of his fingers and handed it to her.

Misty raised an eyebrow, "What's this? Garbage?" she tilted her head to the side and asked upon observing the substance within.

"Depends if you hate flowers or not,"

Misty nearly fell off her chair when he revealed the contents, "F-Flowers?" she stuttered. "Why?"

"May suggested it," Ash attempted to lie.

Misty plied upon the bag, stretching out the handles, "Tell May I really appreciated her kindness, but I'm allergic to lilies," she then sneezed. "Also mention that I can understand how she forgot, we don't talk often,"

Ash thought lilies were best and had there been none, May would have then picked randomly from the garden. She never mentioned anything about Misty having allergies to Lilies.

"What do you mean by allergy? What happens?" Ash asked desperately as Misty began to rub her arm.

"Rash," Misty said in a low voice as she feverously rubbed her arm.

"R-Rash?" Ash mumbled, feeling a sudden plunge of guilt. If anything happened he didn't want May to be the reason as to why she had an allergic reaction.

Misty nodded, she began to shake out one foot, and "Sorry, it affects my legs as well," she said hastily as her body suddenly began to lightly sway from side to side.

Ash's eyes enlarged, without a moment's notice he stood up and slammed both his hands on the desk, "I'm sorry! I told May to get you lilies in your garden because I forgot to last night! I didn't know this would happen, don't blame May, it was more my fault," he apologized.

The class, having witnessed the scene, began to mumble and send odd-stricken looks towards Ash and Misty, and Mr. Brown raised his eyebrow at the pair.

"Ash-" Misty said softly.

"If you die I'm sorry!" Ash answered before she could finish, tilting his head back he groaned. Misty could've sworn he was mumbling insults towards himself.

"Lower your voice and sit down," Misty squeaked in a quiet tone. "He got really into our play idea," she said aloud. Ash furrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth to speak—she wasn't shaking anymore nor was she itching.

Everyone moved on from the scene and pulled their concentration back to their own work and Mr. Brown nodded understandingly before returning to work.

"Play?" Ash asked in a soft voice.

"I wanted to know why you lied to me, I didn't think you were going to make a scene about it," Misty explained, she rested her head on a single head, "My method may not have been the best, I just wanted to know why you thought it was so bad to claim it wasn't your idea," she added on.

"You lied?" Ash grumbled. "I… hey don't do that, I was worried!"

"What's so wrong about saying you thought of the idea?" Misty questioned.

Something irked her about it, but she was unable to pinpoint what specifically got to her.

"Well we're not really friends and I have a girlfriend and—"

"She'd be threatened by flowers, right?" Misty winked knowingly. She did ponder on Angie's sudden kind attitude; that was, in fact, her next question.

If she could take any poll and ask those within the student body, she'd ask how many felt ready for a relationship. And from there she'll ask how many were in a relationship they disliked but couldn't get out, from the experiences she's seen, she knew the number may be significantly larger than most would deem appropriate.

Ash leaned in closer, "I wanted to break up with her, but she is trying to be nicer and I… wouldn't you be hurt?"

Misty thought of the question, picking up her pen she tapped the bottom lightly on the open notebook, "I may be a little jealous," she said with a shrug, "I have to ask, knowing your girlfriend may get angry, why did you still feel the need to give me flowers?"

"Why do you want know so badly?" Ash asked.

In his perspective, Misty was quite interesting. He's seen many sides of her, but whatever side she was on presently was a new part he had no idea existed.

"I'm just wondering," Misty answered. "Nothing wrong with that, right?"

"No, I guess not. I have a lot of things I wonder about," Ash answered, looking directly at Misty.

"Like what's for lunch?" inquired Misty and she began to write a heading on the empty sheet, they did need to get started… eventually. She wasn't interested in failing English anytime soon and she knew how significant the assignment was towards her first quarter grade.

"Add breakfast and dinner," Ash corrected with a grin. "But don't do anymore acting;" Ash said in a serious tone, "I was worried, who wouldn't be?" He leaned back on his chair, causing some of the chair legs to elevate off the ground, forming an unbalance within the chair position.

"I admit I was wrong to lie and worry you, we both were," Misty admitted. "Anyways, we should start our skit,"

Ash began to wobble before falling forward—back to the chair's usual setting, "I have no idea what to do and thinking stresses me out,"

Misty tapped the side of her chin, "Romantic tragedy hmm? If only it were a romantic comedy,"

"That would be more fun to do, I don't like depressing stories," Ash said with a sigh.

Having overhead the other students' conversations, it seemed as if fitting the requirements was the difficult part. Misty felt otherwise, she had no idea how to start a mini skit, however, the requirements she could easily fill out.

"Perhaps it's being back in school; maybe it's being a typically uncreative person. I can't imagine at least one prompt."

"What?! How are we supposed to do this now, none of us know what to do," said Ash, "I thought you would be able to come up with something!"

"You expected me to?" Misty asked with surprise.

Ash nodded, "Girls are usually better at this stuff."

Misty rolled her eyes, "Guess I'm not that great at being a girl then. If it's supposed to be tragic why it doesn't just be some one-sided love and one of us betrays the other?" she said sarcastically.

"That works."

At that point, Ash didn't care what they wrote; he just wanted to finish it.

* * *

><p>"Slow down!" Leaf demanded as she ran through the empty spaces, attempting not to bump into an innocent bystander.<p>

Turning her head to look back, Dawn said "I need to see the results,"

"That excited, huh?"

"Well of course!" Dawn huffed as she made her way to the designated bulletin where the results would be posted.

"Congratulations Ursula," Georgia announced.

Ursula was standing in front of the result sheet with an evident smirk on her face. Dawn clenched her fist, Ursula won—again.

Leaf pushed Georgia to the side quite harshly and made her way to the results. Scanning through, she realized (unfortunately) that Ursula was given the lead role; however, another thing caused her eyes to gleam.

"Sing to your prince all you want, Ursula. Dawn gets to insult and slap you during the practices and play," Leaf spat with a smirk.

"What?!" Ursula said as she gritted her teeth.

Dawn's eyes widening, she hadn't auditioned for Rani yet by Leaf's words she was to play her. She inched closer to the bulletin board and read through the names, sure enough, her name was side-by-side with the name Rani.

"I didn't audition for her, how—" Dawn gasped before being interrupted by Leaf.

"Does it really matter how? What's important is your lines and acting, which requires you to be as bitchy as you want to Ursula," Leaf whispered.

"It's just acting, I wouldn't actually be…" Dawn thought for a moment: Leaf had a tiny point. It was just acting but never the less; it would feel somewhat real to her. Insulting and bullying, despite being a scene, didn't sit quite well with her, however. She was alright with occasional back-talking (which she rarely has done) but she would end up pitying Ursula because of harsh treatment.

"You're too nice," Leaf sighed as she rolled her eyes.

"You shouldn't be in the play, you didn't audition for that. You auditioned for my role, which I received because I was the better fit," Ursula taunted angrily as her fist trembled.

Leaf chuckled heavily, "Please," she spat, "More like the better kiss-up, if you didn't think Dawn was great at acting then you obviously don't understand the self-control this girl has in order not to slap you every damn day,"

Dawn blushed, "Leaf, I would love to tell her off daily," she whispered, "but slapping is too far. You have a point though, so keep going," Dawn pondered more on her friend's ideas; Ursula made it extremely difficult for Dawn to keep her mentality from fully turning into Leaf's. The bluenette found no problem however with imagining scenes between the two of them were Dawn expressing her dissent towards Ursula's attitude, behavior, and overall personality.

"Aren't you border-line ready to get kicked out, Green?" Georgia said with a chuckle.

"Shut up, will you?" Leaf retorted, her hand forming into a fist due to anger.

"Hope your tutor can at least delay the expelling process," Ursula cursed sarcastically before motioning Georgia to leave.

"When do you get your tutor?" Dawn asked softly, she felt remorse for Leaf's incident. Leaf nearly bit off Brianna's head due to those rumors, which caused the administration to examine her and take a deeper interest on her academic and behavioral record. Dawn exhaled; Leaf was not a bad person, though Dawn admitted Leaf didn't always do the correct thing.

"Saturday I believe," said Leaf, "They tried to match us up so his or her help can be most beneficial for me," she let out an aspirated laugh, "I don't think they realize I don't care about getting expelled,"

Dawn's eyes widened, "Leaf!" she said with surprise, "How can you not care?"

"What am I supposed to do with my life?" Leaf pointed out emotionlessly. "I'm just going to get a job at some restaurant or shop and I'll live a simple life,"

"No college?" Dawn asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Nah," Leaf said with a shrug.

"You should care a little more, shouldn't you? You still need to finish high school even if college is something you don't plan on attending," Dawn reasoned, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, "Please don't try to get expelled or any more trouble,"

"I won't try to purposely, but if it happens I'm ready," Leaf said with what she hoped was some assurance. She heard whimpers escaping Dawn's mouth, "What the Hell—"

"You're one of my best friends, you know that right? I'm not exactly as smart as Drew or Misty; you're my only friend in the majority of my classes. I won't have anyone if you leave, so please don't," Dawn cried out; tears forming and streaming down her face.

"Dawn..." Leaf said softly. "Fine, I'll try my hardest with this so I don't get kicked out, at least for this year," she promised, sticking out her pinky.

Dawn quickly wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt before stretching her arm out and crossing pinkies with Leaf, a sign of her promise to try her hardest.

"For your sake too; I care about what happens to all my friends. You included. I don't want you to look back at high school with regret for not trying hard enough," Dawn expressed seriously.

Leaf doubted she'd look back and feel remorse for not trying in school, but she didn't want to express any more of her thoughts to Dawn. She merely nodded wordlessly; believing otherwise, yet deep inside her heart, she knew Dawn made valid points.

* * *

><p>"That's great!" Misty gushed.<p>

"Ursula still got the part I auditioned for," Dawn pointed out as she slumped back into the couch.

"The antagonist is usually the character that brings out the strongest feelings from the audience. A convincing antagonist is a lot more complex and requires far more emotions and acting chops," Misty reasoned.

"Leaf thought it was great because I get to insult Ursula in practice and the play," Dawn said with a giggle.

"That too," Misty said, winking. "It will be pretty interesting to see you act like the mean one while Ursula is the one that gets insulted."

"It's already different to act mean," Dawn admitted, "I guess this will be a weird feeling in general,"

Drew barged in, "I'm sure it will be extremely difficult for you to act mean," he commented sarcastically.

"Hey!" Dawn exclaimed as she assumed an upright siting position.

"Good choice because just like you preach," Misty began, "slouching is bad for your back."

"Thank you for becoming a member of the backstage crew," Dawn said with gratitude.

Misty patted her on the back, "What kind of friend leaves their best friend alone with their worst enemy,"

Dawn's eyes expanded, "Ssh not so loud,"

"We're the first ones here," Misty reminded as she rolled her eyes.

"We are?" Dawn eyes scanned through the auditorium, only to see empty seats and a hushed environment. Unzipping her bag, Dawn pricked out the note sent regarding the first practice, "We're forty minutes early,"

Misty tilted her head to get a better look, "You're right," she commented.

Misty thought bringing any assignments (even the ones she had yet to catch up on) was a pointlessburden to carry around. She wished she dragged along some minor ones to occupy herself with; a lot could be completed within a forty-minute time frame after all.

Dawn opened up her phone to check through messages, Misty heard a vibration noise and she noticed a smile had sprouted upon Dawn's face.

"I hope I met him, and I hope I can meet him again," Dawn commented before sighing, "Don't you want to meet Cinderella Man?" she asked.

Misty shook her head, knowing that meeting someone you've never met can lead to horrible endings. That was her common sense speaking though, because deep inside she felt the same way Dawn did.

"We shouldn't try to meet up with them, but if it happens accidentally then I don't see a problem with that," Misty stated flatly. "You know all the risks, right?"

Dawn nodded sadly as she hopped onto the stage and sat, her feet kicking the air solemnly. Misty pulled herself onto the edge of the stage as well, absorbing the serenity of the silence.

"What's Prince Charming like?" Misty asked in the spur of the silence.

"He's seems intelligent, sarcastic, argumentative, mysterious too in a way. He's not openly emotional but he's fun to talk to and we get along, sometimes," Dawn described with a smile.

"Openly emotional? From what I know I think he comes off as a cold person," Misty chuckled.

Dawn shook her head and pulled her swinging feet atop the stage floor, slightly resting her head on her knees with her face sticking out from the side, "Everyone has emotions, he's just not very open with his, in my opinion at least,"

"Lately I've been giving Cinderella girl advice," Misty informed as she rolled her eyes, "I'm starting to have a small hunch that he might be a she,"

Dawn's head perked up, "What kind of girl advice does he need?"

"He sounds confused on who he likes or something," Misty said with a shrug before explaining his situation and every girl she can recall him mentioning.

Dawn fell back laughing when Misty finished.

"So there's this girl he didn't like before but now he's attracted to her," Dawn giggled as she laid down lazily on the stage.

"He had a girlfriend he broke up with recently too," Misty said. "And of course, the girl he made cry and a former crush," Misty added almost dryly.

Giggling, Dawn sat up and faced her friend, "Are you jealous or something?" Dawn asked, raising both her eyebrows.

"No," Misty yelled defensively. "It's just…weird,"

"What's weird?" Dawn asked.

"He tells me a lot of aspects of his personal life: More specifically his love life. I have yet to be as specific about mine, the only parts he has knowledge about involve Gary, Drew, my sisters to a small degree, and you," Misty revealed.

Misty was never as open as he was, or how Dawn may have been with her friend. There were parts that were better left out and forgotten, events that were irrelevant to her life now. Gary was irrelevant, she had long forgotten—and forgiven to some degree—what happened. As far as the more personal attributes, there was just no need.

"You forgot Ash," Dawn said with a wink. "I know how mad he made you the first time you two met. There's no doubt in my mind you ranted,"

Misty chuckled, "Yeah, him too. I also mention what's happening, but the events aren't really personal. When I was sick, I mentioned that."

"It's like you're his journal, and he's like some imaginary friend," Dawn joked. "These two boys…"

"Correction; princesses," Misty said with a smirk

Dawn snorted, "These two princesses just…" Dawn paused, thinking of how to explain the feeling.

"Ignite curiosity about how they are beyond the phone screen?" Misty chimed in.

"I've told him some of my deepest feelings and he gives advice in this not nurturing way, but it still helps me, you know? I think of him as a close friend even though our relationship might say otherwise," Dawn admitted. "Is that normal?"

"Friends don't get along all the time; the closest friends can tease each other and have inside jokes," Misty said, beaming as she thought of Dawn and Drew, her closest friends.

They were a family, kind of dysfunctional, but that's the closest form of family.

"I don't think of him as someone I don't know," Dawn revealed as she finally gathered her thoughts. "But he is still a mystery and we haven't met them,"

"Considering both of you are personal with each other, I don't want to know Cinderella's mental image of me is," said Misty. "It's probably ninety-percent blank,"

"I can't see it another way," Dawn mumbled. "That boy I met when I was walking—he really fit my image of Prince Charming. There were some differences but the tone and demeanor kind of went along with my imagination. Not just that but Prince Charming knew about Fantina! He made an excuse as to why he knew of her."

Misty nearly fell off the stage when Dawn revealed the news, "What?!"

She figured that they were back in Sinnoh or whatever region, they knew Gary—disliked Gary, and now they knew of the dance instructor. Misty's common sense stepped in to remind Misty of how the chances are dim; though she might wish it to be full of light.

"Cinderella may not go to the same school as Charming, but I can ask if you want," Dawn said as she rapidly pressed on her phone's buttons before tapping the "send" icon.

_Dawn: Do you go to the same school as Cinderella Man?_

"If you're right—"

_Paul: Not anymore. Why?_

Dawn groaned and tilted her head downward, "He claimshedoesn't anymore,"

Dawn's intuition could be correct, if she were Misty hoped they'd be able to meet at the least. She was fine without personally knowing Cinderella Man; their relationship was alright as it was. If they somehow meet, it will be absolutely fine with her. On the contrary, it seemed as if Dawn wanted to meet Prince Charming, he was a major part of her life and while they hadn't known each other as long as she and Cinderella Man had, they seemed as if they communicated with each other far more often.

Misty attributed that aspect to the communication becoming limited to IM between Cinderella Man and her.

"If you ever see that guy again, ask him, you might be correct. He's our age though, right?" Misty asked in a serious tone, she didn't want her friend to get abducted after all.

"Yes, he goes to our high school," Dawn answered, "I thought we covered that part already,"

"Just making sure," Misty retorted. "I did promise your mom you won't get into any trouble,"

Dawn pouted and Misty lightly kicked her shoe.

Dawn pivoted her legs to the opposite side, "These shoes are new, white, and I don't want to get them dirty,"

"Sorry I didn't get the memo due to the dirt on the cap," Misty muttered.

"What?!" Dawn exclaimed, her eyes darted to seek the confirmation. "Noo, now I need to bleach them," she complained sadly as she noticed the gray marks on her left shoe.

"People should be arriving soon," Misty informed as she examined her watch.

"Have you met Ursula yet?" Dawn asked.

"Unfortunately I haven't had the displeasure of knowing her, yet," Misty said sarcastically.

Their voices were the only sounds that echoed the theater, until however, the sound of a pail falling and rolling abruptly sounded through.

Misty suddenly shrieked instinctively, "You didn't tell me there were ghosts here! Damn, I wouldn't have agreed to this! I didn't bring any onions either,"

"Witch might be a better fit," Dawn whispered.

"Onions and ghosts? Seriously?" Ursula rolled her eyes as she pranced from the back exit; her heals making a clicking noise as she walked.

Misty felt slightly flustered.

"Why are you wearing high heels to the practice?" asked Dawn.

"You're right; I'm supposedly shorter than you are. If only you grew a tad more, though I understand that's not your fault. You just had the misfortune of being malnourished; that happens when your mother is a sixteen year old," Ursula snarled as she waved her floral fan.

Dawn tightened her fist and shot a glare full of rage at Ursula.

"If you seriously think five two is a sign of being malnourished then please do yourself a favor and check the average height of teens at this age. In addition, those four inch heels make you five seven, if four is subtracted you are only an inch taller than Dawn is. Guess by your logic your mother didn't nourish you properly either," Misty retorted as she smirked.

"Shut up!" Ursula growled.

Dawn saw a different gleam in her eyes when Misty added the final part of her comeback; it wasn't of anger, but almost looked hurt. The vision didn't last too long, however, but Dawn could have sworn that something Misty mentioned pierced her Achilles' heel.

"Take your own advice before you decide to mess with my friend, can you?" Misty asked rhetorically, slightly lifting an eyebrow.

"You always need someone to fight your own battles, don't you Dawn? You just can't do it yourself," Ursula remarked, averting her gaze towards Dawn's direction.

"She doesn't need me to; I want to. If you're going to criticize her for having a friend that gives a damn about her well-being, then why don't we go into a hefty discussion on why you're fixated on Dawn? What is it about her mom being sixteen years her senior that upsets you so much? Are you that judgmental of a human being?" Misty reasoned, standing up.

"It's more than that," Ursula huffed as she pointed her face away from Misty.

"Why you—" Misty craned her arm up only for it to be lowered back to her side by Dawn.

"Let it go, she's not worth it," Dawn whispered as a smile quirked up. Misty appeared to have missed that different gleam in Ursula's eyes, but Dawn knew of other ways to get Ursula—words still technically involved.

After Ursula's "grand" arrival, the other cast and crew members—Fantina included, arrived.

Dawn, still clutching her script, walked over to Misty—who was taking note of the various buttons she'd need to become accustomed to.

Lifting her head up, Misty winked, "Be as 'Rani' as you can be," she advised devilishly.

Dawn smirked poignantly, "You bet," She walked forth to the stage, her eyes still chained to her script.

"Action!" Fantina announced, clapping.

"Are you still working on the cleaning?" Dawn sneered with annoyance, rolling her eyes at Ursula, who was positioned on her hands and knees.

"S-sorry," Ursula stuttered.

Misty attempted not to chuckle at the role reversal taking place, they key word being attempted. Ursula being the lamb instead of the wolf was a far cry from reality.

Dawn groaned and waved a hand across her face, still eyeing the script from the corner of her eye, "How difficult is it supposed to be to scrub the floor clean? You're not treating injuries or ruling a kingdom, you're just pressing the towel against the floor and that is already above your capabilities," Dawn insulted, turning her face away brashly like Ursula had done earlier.

Misty noticed that while Dawn still used the script, she still kept a level of effectiveness. Ursula on the other hand seemed flat, she struggled to act and convey emotion within her tone whilst she read the scripts aloud.

Ursula glanced towards her right where her script laid, "I'm sorry, princess, but I'm almost finished," she read monotonously.

Fantina slowly shook her head, as if disappointed with Ursula's performance. In fairness, it was only the first practice, yet Dawn was doing quite well, not perfect, but still great—especially in comparison to Ursula's performance. Both girls auditioned for the same role, yet Dawn didn't receive the role she applied for.

"Almost finished?" Dawn repeated mockingly.

"Yes, I just have—"

Dawn took a few steps forward and, utilizing her leg, she plunged her foot to the side of the empty pail. Dawn sharply pivoted and sent daggers in Ursula's frightened direction, seizing the rolling pail, she hurled it forcefully at the ground and then gripped Ursula's shirt collar.

Misty felt chills crawl up her spine; even Fantina recoiled somewhat at the scene.

Dawn scrunched down, "These were new shoes!" she screeched, pinching the shirt collar upward.

Ursula's eyes expanded, her teeth lightly chattering, "I'm sorry!" she screamed desperately.

Misty's eyes traced her personal copy of the script, looking to see how Ursula was supposed to respond.

_Kiana: Sorry they got ruined but I had no fault in that._

Misty figured Ursula didn't even need to look at the script to annunciate a response.

Dawn creased her brow and slowly released her grip; Ursula naturally fell back in response. Standing back up, Dawn pointed a finger at Ursula, "You're only a peasant, how dare you speak to me that way?!" she chastised, slightly gritting her teeth.

Dawn's line was correct, but sounded odd considering Ursula desperately apologized. Misty's attention fell to Fantina, who was writing down notes in a seemingly disappointed manner.

Dawn angrily stomped out. She undid the knot in her shoe before pulling it off her foot and chucking it at the wall, nearly hitting a background character. Her eyes widened and she slowly checked back to ensure she hadn't hit the poor bystander.

A smile quirked up Misty's face; now that was the Dawn she knew.

"Cut," said Fantina. She walked forth, holding a clipboard and pen; she began to read her notes takes during the scene's duration.

"I didn't hit you, right?" Dawn nervously asked the boy.

"For the third time, you didn't," he responded.

"Dawn, great job," Fantina praised, "I had no idea you were that effective of an actress,"

Dawn blushed, "Thank you,"

"Ursula, you made an error in one scene and you were flat. I do not expect any of you to be professional but do try to come back with more emotion next time," Fantina read.

"I will," Ursula responded flatly as she got back on her feet.

* * *

><p>As the practice continued, Ursula appeared almost intimidated. Misty heard how proficient of a dancer Ursula was, how high her grades were, and she heard about her apparently angelic voice. All those variables were irrelevant to acting, for the duration of the practice she remained stiff.<p>

"Have a great evening everyone. Please check your emails regarding practice schedules," said Fantina.

Dawn walked over to Misty, "How did I do?" she asked.

"Horrible," Misty commented sarcastically. Dawn's expression dropped, "I was being sarcastic," Misty chuckled.

"Oh," Dawn reacted in a sing-song voice. "I… uh, knew that," she added as she scratched her head.

"You should have received the lead role," Misty whispered, leaning in so someone, namely Ursula, couldn't hear.

Dawn shrugged, "I wish I did, but acting as your complete opposite is so much fun!" she squealed.

"You didn't notice everyone's face during your intense scenes, did you?" Misty chuckled.

Dawn shook her head, "Were they bad looks?"

"Frightened," Misty corrected, shivering as she thought of certain sequences where the usually sweet Dawn turned into the manipulative Rani.

Dawn's jaws fell, "Really? I was actually attempting to tone down some of the scenes…"

Misty cocked her head to the side, "T-that was toned down?" Dawn only smiled.

When she was angry, it was a frightening sight to behold. Misty assumed Dawn's anger was effective as a result of her feelings towards Ursula. She recalled when the bluenette bailed them all out by suddenly crying about her lost necklace; Misty knew she used her actual feelings to appear believable.

"As much as I could, I toned some scenes down," Dawn revealed, "On the day of the play, I'll put in my best effort," she then winked, causing Misty to wonder how her best effort would appear.

"You were amazing, Dawn," Ursula complimented kindly as she came over to Dawn and kindly shook her hand.

"Uhh..." Dawn was out of words with Ursula's sudden change of attitude.

"I give credit when credit's due," said Ursula with a tiny smile. "Your friend's words also spoke to me. I thought about during the whole practice,"

She glanced at Misty and smiled, the redhead in turn sent a skeptical glare at Ursula's direction.

"What do you need?" Misty asked bitterly.

"I want to apologize for how I've been acting, okay?"

Dawn nearly choked, "Am I dreaming?" she mumbled to herself.

Ursula placed a hand on Dawn's shoulder, "You're not. I realized how horrible I have been to you over the years," she admitted guiltily.

"Seriously?" Misty exclaimed, gagging at how pitiful Ursula's acting was. Acting as a character didn't come easily to her, evident not only in her acting on stage, but also in her efforts to sway Dawn.

The pink-haired girl kindly ignored Misty's remark and continued, "I'm not asking to be friends, but I'm looking for peace,"

Dawn stayed mute; she furrowed her brow and then said, "If you mean what you say, then prove it with your actions."

"Ursula when's the party?" asked someone, "This Friday?"

"Next Friday," she corrected.

"Party?"

"I'm inviting the entire cast and crew to a party to, you know, kick off the theater production," Ursula elaborated, "both of you are invited too, but I won't force either of you to come."

Misty gritted her teeth, "Good, because no way in Hell am I going—"

"I'll go as long as your actions are consistent with your words," Dawn proposed. "I want peace also, I don't like drama."

"I'm not forcing you to go; if you want to, you can. My words aren't meant to lure you, I meant what I said. I don't blame you for your hesitance to trust me, I was such a bitch to you… I don't think I'd be able to even think about forgiving me if I were you," Ursula murmured as she tugged at her sleeves nervously. She then left without another word; Dawn could've sworn she heard some crying.

Misty rolled her eyes.

"I'll give her a chance," said Dawn to Misty, "Your words did affect her; I can guarantee the look in her eye wasn't plastic. As far as her apology, I'll base it on her actions,"

Misty pursued her lip, "Don't you see she's trying to gain your trust? Once she gets it she'll break it once more, only it'll be lethal for you," she pointed out with annoyance.

"I'm giving her one chance," said Dawn, "No need to worry! I won't let her break anything, if that is her intention,"

Misty exhaled, "Whatever you do don't go to the party,"

"You're invited too," Dawn reminded, "If you're on board with the idea that she she'll try to do something you'll be there."

"I can't go; Ash and I have to work on our project that day. I heard someone say the time and it's the exact time we meet," said Misty.

Dawn gave her friend a small hug, "You're my best friend and I know you care about my well-being, but no need to worry! I won't let her do anything to me if I do go,"

Misty sighed; she had a feeling Dawn was going to end up attending. She knew the bluenette would be on alert, but she also sensed Ursula's intelligence was going to come into play somehow.

* * *

><p>Misty just couldn't put her finger on what she'll use.<p>

I wish I can give some half-credit to those who answered Drew, he's starting to think about it but he hasn't actually confirmed anything... at least in this chapter. Everyone who got it right, I'm going to immediately type some parts up tonight and PM the people who guessed correctly.

You can still guess right now though. Or, you can chance your guesses.

"Who will find out next?"

Ash, Misty, May, Angie, Leaf, Drew, Ursula.

Thanks to Hoenn Master 96 for editing :)


	16. Perspectives

**This is an "early" update. Well.****.****.16 was supposed to be 20,000 words maybe more because of everything I was going to squish in. I decided it was better to split a part out and make it a separate chapter. It made better sense too imo, because what happens here is in a completely unrelated time frame and that's honestly confusing. Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter, and for all of your guesses. I love how no one guessed Ash lol. I think the most common guesses were Drew, Misty, and May. Well.****.****. You'll see next chapter., unless you predicted correctly =) if you guessed correctly you got your preview and kinda found out already. I did that all before like deciding to publish what I had early.**

**Also~ Happy Halloween! I posted a new story; it's going to be "short" per say. 10-13 chapters, nothing more, nothing less. If you guys would like to see, it's called On that Unfaithful Day. The title and the time it was published say it all lol, it's a Halloween mini-story and the shippings are the same except I placed it under Leaf/Gary (I really don't know with the second main couple lol).**

* * *

><p>"Are you alright?" asked Ash.<p>

Misty raised her head and glowered, "Why wouldn't I be?" she huffed with annoyance before flipping her attention back towards her paper.

Something was bothering her; it wasn't a hindrance to their work, but she just seemed incredibly grouchy—more so than the usual. She pressed the pen vigorously on the paper as she wrote; the ink itself was peculiarly darker and slightly smudged due to the excessive pressure. Writing didn't seem to be a fitting word to describe how she held the pen; it was like she was tattooing every letter onto it. Ash figured an actual needle would be gentler however.

She muttered swears as she continued to pour out her anger.

"You take writing to release your feelings to a whole new level," Ash half-joked as Misty frustratingly crossed out a sentence. He slanted his head closer out of pure curiosity and noticed her usual handwriting took an angry turn as well, being abnormally bigger and bolder than usual.

"Damn this pen," she hissed as she intensely scribbled on a spare sheet of paper only to find out that the poor, tortured pen had run out of ink. "Useless," she mumbled as she catapulted it at the garbage can, only to have it ricochet off the wall and gradually roll back.

"I understand missing the shot; first off all the garbage can has a cover. Second, basketball isn't your sport," Ash began, "I don't get why you're so angry; care to explain?" he asked.

"None of your business," Misty shot back.

"Did you get a B plus on a test?" Ash suggested, chuckling because he had no doubt in his mind Misty would be that type.

That seemed to have pulled a trigger, because not even a second after, she growled, "You really think I'll be upset over that?!" she bitterly spat.

Maybe not this mad, but you'd still upset, Ash thought, denouncing his theory. He, of course, wouldn't dare to say that out loud.

Ash lifted his shoulders, she was absolutely imperceptible. It brought him back to when they first met and he thought she was the wickedest thing he ever met. He couldn't bring himself to assume that anymore, he knew her better, maybe he wasn't a best friend and maybe he wasn't even a friend—but he knew she had reasons for being infuriated.

"I know it's none of my business," Ash began, "Whatever this is, it's something important to you, right?" he lightly suggested. She failed to respond, Ash figured she just chose to ignore his words. "I don't need to know what it is, but you've helped me figure something out before. I want to help you too," he offered.

"It's nothing," Misty began almost dryly as she put down her pencil temporarily. "Nothing you should be concerned with, absolutely nothing," she added gentler.

"Fight with friends?" Ash questioned in a low whisper.

Despite, in his perspective, being inaudible, she somehow heard and lightly shook her head. "There's some stress there, but no," she answered.

She was still a mystery to him; he knew nothing about her and vice versa. He wished MW was with him, she seemed to understand Misty's type incredibly well whenever he needed advice.

He scratched his head as he tried to recall what his friend told him…

_MW: I think she's the type to keep her problems to herself. If you want her to open up to you (are you trying to date her?) then give her space and she'll gradually begin to let you into her world. Make sure you make it evident you care even if you are completely oblivious to her problems._

_Cinderella Man: I'm not trying to date her, but thank you for believing I'm trying to do the same to every girl I come in contact with._

_MW: No __offense__, but that's the impression people get._

_Cinderella Man: Really?_

_MW: Yes._

_Cinderella Man: I don't think it's fair that I always ask you advice, but you don't ask anything from me. I know your love life is nonexistent but come on, is there something I can tease you about?_

_MW: My nonexistent love life?_

_Cinderella Man: Nah._

_MW: Not everyone has the ability to find things to tease about; it's okay and perfectly normal._

_Cinderella Man: Not __teasing, but…__ We can always start the Gary Oak jokes again?_

She was easier to talk to than Misty was, even though Misty was right in front of him. The latter was intimidating at times, but during the few times she wasn't, the redhead was a lot more approachable. He figured MW was right; Misty probably just kept to herself.

He still wanted to soothe her, even if his help barely worked. He pretended MW was with him, right next to him, whispering what her observations and ideas were.

"Hmm…" Ash mumbled aloud, causing Misty to send him a weird look. "It's not a major concern of mine, but what's going on with your friends?" he asked. That wasn't the main problem, meaning the chances she'll explain—which means he can help—were in his favor.

"Drew's, well, Drew," Misty said with little to no enthusiasm or emotion. "Dawn on the other hand has something going on, but it's nothing big, I hope," she murmured the final two words in a low, mouse-like voice.

Ash firmly pressed his hands on the table and stood up, "Does it have to do with Brianna or what?" Ash asked, sincerely worried he'd receive a nod.

"No. It's really nothing you should dwell on," Misty said in an attempt to silence his questions.

She discontinued her earlier actions and calmly, but silently, wrote her part. Ash was happy she at least wasn't acting like she stabbing something multiple times. Examining her part once more, she slid the paper to Ash, who also gave her his.

"Looks fine," Both said in union after each carefully examined the others' handwriting, adding only side comments on post-it notes.

"What the Hell are you doing up so early?" Paul asked suddenly and rudely as he walked in. He eyed Misty, before glaring back at Ash, "Never mind," he muttered as he opened the closet and slipped his arms into his coat.

Ash gritted his teeth frustratingly together, "What do you mean by 'never mind'?"

"What does he mean by early? It's two in the afternoon," Misty chimed in, holding up her watch to prove she was indeed right.

Paul rolled his eyes and growled in frustration as he opened up his phone and swiftly dialed in a number. He raised the phone to his ear and impatiently tapped his foot on the floor as he waited for the other person to respond.

"What time did you need to be there?" Ash asked with amusement. To his displeasure, Paul ignored him.

"Reggie, there was a hindrance this morning which affected the timeslot for my visit," Paul dryly explained.

"What did he do all night?" Ash asked himself as he gaped at the undeniably frustrated Paul.

"Does he usually stay up late?" Misty asked as Paul began to dryly elaborate on details.

"No, brother, that was not why I was late in waking up; I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring her into this," Paul snarled, adding a certain emphasis on whoever "her" was.

"Girlfriend?" Misty suggested with a shrug. Seeing how "welcoming" of a person Paul appeared to be, she felt doubtful of that theory.

"Might as well be," Ash answered in a nearly quiet tone.

"Hmm? Did you say something?" she asked, having not heard him.

"No," Ash immediately said as he whisked his attention towards their project. Her handwriting transformed back to normal on her commentary, to his delight. In general she seemed to have released the anger she held, at least for the time being.

Misty caught sight of his out-of-place smile and lightly tapped his shoulder, which made him shudder in response. "What were you smiling about?" she asked curiously.

Tilting his head forward, Ash happily answered, "You're not trying to murder the paper anymore."

Misty lifted an eyebrow at his, in her opinion, odd-stricken response. "Do I get a plaque?" she sarcastically asked.

"Nah, you can buy your own."

She cracked a tiny smile, whatever aspect of her life that she stressed out about was laid off at the moment.

* * *

><p>"Well, turns out my brother thought it would be humorous to force me to wake up early and arrive eight hours before I needed to," Paul complained out loud dryly, facing the dull wall as he spoke.<p>

"You still woke up late," Ash inquired positively.

"His plan backfired," Paul muttered as he ascended up the stairs.

"You survive with him, how?" Misty asked, indicating Paul.

"I don't know," Ash admitted, "He kind of has a negative view on the world,"

"'Kind of'?" Misty asked incredulously under her breath. Maybe Paul doesn't have it as bad as Prince Charming, but he gives off this pessimistic vibe, she thought.

Maybe it was out of her position to judge him; she barely knew Paul. He was the mysterious figure in the house, it was as if he didn't reside there because he never involved himself with Drew, Misty, and Dawn—well, leaving off his surprising help when Ursula stole some of her belongings. Though between the three of them, the only one he seemed to care for, despite never actually meeting her formally, was Dawn.

He didn't seem like a "virtuous hero" that did favors for the good of humanity. Misty couldn't contemplate why he helped Dawn that day, it just seemed random and out of character for Paul to do. She theorized that Paul may have had some personal bias against Ursula—but she doubted it.

"Hey," Ash waved a hand in front of her face. "You spaced out,"

"Why did Paul help Dawn when Ursula stole from her?" Misty asked.

Ash grinned poignantly, "Well—" his face dropped, he now seemed clueless on how to answer the question.

"You don't know either," observed Misty, "How in earth did he know to give it to Drew also? Actually, better way to say that is how did he know who Drew was?"

"Well, um... I'll ask May," Ash answered nervously.

"Why can't you just ask Paul?" Misty suggested.

"He's kind of moody, May might have some answers," said Ash as he went to fetch May.

"Hi Misty," called out May as she skipped down the stairs and into the living room.

"Nice to see you," Misty greeted with a small wave.

"Misty's extremely curious about Paul," Ash informed. "Why did he help Dawn?"

"Oh," May piped up as she plopped onto a recliner, stretching her legs out. "I think he said the topic sickened him?" Confusion with a spice of theorizing was mixed in her tone.

"How did he know about Drew and what he looked like? How did Paul know Dawn was connected to Drew? There are tons of Drews and Dawns yet his guess hit the target," Misty questioned, brewing up more questions that May and Ash gave unsure faces to.

It was apparent neither had an answer, both kept silent and exchanged confused glances.

"Well… Ash used to talk about you a lot. I mentioned our first meeting and what happened the day we met. Paul's pretty smart, he made some connections," May proposed.

Ash blushed due to the first sentence May said.

"Well, however he figured everything out—he hit the bull's eye," said Misty as she peered up at the top floor the staircase led up to. She felt a strange sensation that they were being watched by Paul, which she minded because if he was paying attention then he'd know Misty had a couple questions awaiting him.

"I really don't know why Paul did it, I have my guesses. I think he just wanted to do something from the good of his heart," May said optimistically.

Ash chuckled, nearly losing his balance because of his heavy laughter, "I can't believe you used Paul and heart in the same sentence!" he snorted.

May looked slightly embarrassed; her argument looked kind of weak due to Paul's lack of obvious emotion. Not to mention his pessimistic intake of life.

Misty wasn't sure whether to be surprised anymore, Paul was like the boy Dawn talked to over text. Misty has never talked to Charming, though Dawn is strongly connected to him. She recalled how cold he appeared to be, but it seemed as if Dawn and he were past hostile terms. She called him a friend and he made her happy; if Misty could pinpoint the five most important people in the bluenette's life, her mysterious friend would be climbing the ranks.

Maybe he was just like Prince Charming; maybe he needed someone that could strip his negative attitude.

* * *

><p>"How was your date?" teased Drew when Misty arrived.<p>

"Splendid; most of it was spent trying to figure out the psychological motivations of Paul Shinji," Misty commented.

"He has issues," Drew deadpanned, to which Misty agreed. She ran up the stairs and came back down with her laptop in her careful grasp. She set it on the kitchen table and sat, lifting up the top and turning it on.

"I can't believe that phone call affected me so much," Misty reflected as her fingers slid across the smooth keyboard.

"Well," Drew began as he spun the cap off the water bottle, "If my siblings told me they didn't think I needed to go to college and should become some exotic dancer, I'd be in a prissy mood all day,"

"Like you already aren't?" Misty sneered.

"Worse than the normal," Drew amended.

Misty groaned loudly, "I can't believe they would even say that!" she growled as she slammed her fists into the keyboard.

Drew lifted an eyebrow, "Calm down," he said.

"You're lucky, you know? Harley and Solidad do care about you. Hell, even Harley does in his strange methods of showing it," said Misty softly.

"You're pretty lucky too," Drew reminded.

"I know I'm better off than others. I just… I can't stand them, I don't get why I had to be related to them. Why couldn't I be an only child? They don't understand," Misty confessed sadly. She stayed quiet afterwards, and Drew knew better than to say something that could anger her.

He knew his limitations, and upsetting someone in a depressing state of mind wasn't right.

* * *

><p>Misty let out a relived sigh as she brushed aside her history book. The whole kitchen table was cluttered with every possible supply item: pencils, pens, notecards, erasers, highlighters, loose leaf—name it and it was cluttered nearly atop the table.<p>

She logged into her IM, after a long day of working she deserved a break.

_Cinderella Man: Hi_

_MW: Hi_

After trying to figure out the psychological nature of Paul while feeling the anger her heaven-sent sisters gave her—she would love hearing about whatever story he can conjure up.

_Cinderella Man: How are you?_

"Horrible," grumbled Misty, repeating her words in typed font.

_Cinderella Man: What happened?_

_MW: You wouldn't really like to hear my rant._

She wasn't kidding; if she got into it her emotions were completely unchained and loose.

_Cinderella Man: Are you joking? If ranting can change your current status then I'll gladly listen to whatever you say_.

A smile crept upon her face, whoever this guy was, he admittedly made her happier. The first time they met involved her being in a heartbroken state because of Gary, and he, along with her friends, helped her recover fairly quickly.

She exhaled and solemnly typed out the exact event.

_MW: My sisters don't think I should go to college and should join in with what they do. They called me early this morning and we talked, it was going well at first but then they had to mention that. You see, I ended up blabbering about the ton of work I missed while I was sick, and they thought it was all trash._

_Cinderella Man: What do they do? You mentioned them a lot to me over the summer. Didn't they leave you in a house with a broken AC?_

_MW: Yes, they did. And__,__ well, to put it nicely they, erm__… Dance__._

_Cinderella Man: Well…_

_MW: They are all way older than me yet they all act like spoiled princesses._

_Cinderella Man: Do you hate them?_

Misty paused; she wanted to say their relationship was complicated, as something in her heart prevented her from saying they despised each other. She shouldn't like them, but stating it explicitly was different than repeating it in her head.

_"They care about you__;__ if they didn't, they wouldn't have gotten you back," Dawn said sweetly._

_"I loved my new family," Misty snarled. "I didn't want to come back; I don't need to live with them!" she cried out, smothering her face into her now damp dress._

_Dawn placed a hand on Misty's back, attempting to soothe her in any way she possibly could._

_"I'm thankful for what they did, I didn't think we'd see each other again after you were put into the Foster Care system," Dawn said optimistically._

_"Most of my temporary homes were around this area," Misty said as she slightly sobbed._

_"The first couple years," said Dawn, "You were away for nearly two straight years; but now, you won't be leaving anymore," she said happily._

_"We communicated just fine when I wasn't in Sinnoh," Misty reminded frustratingly. Dawn's optimism wasn't helping her state; it only worked to build up even more anger._

_"You know, Misty, we're your family too,"_

_Misty lifted her head, tears still rolling down her face. Dawn pulled out a pink handkerchief and willingly wiped away her tears._

_"Thanks, Dawn," Misty said appreciatively._

Her last foster home said the same thing, only this time Misty knew the words Dawn spoke of would never break. They would always be friends as well as family.

Misty felt a couple tears slide off her face, she didn't attempt to, though tears naturally accumulated and fell off. She always thought back of that particular scene as something that signified her friendship with Dawn, as well as the others in her life. She realized that day that family wasn't limited to the words "mom" or "dad".

Looking back, she specifically picked apart what Dawn said about her sisters—they brought her back nonetheless. They didn't leave their biological sister in the system, even if she had grown especially close to her newer family.

Misty tapped her head, slightly cocking it to the side. Whatever their reason was, it didn't make up for the years of unhappiness she felt because of them. She had no reason to mellow down her stance; the day she came back was the day she felt the need to hold that particular grudge. Of everything she deemed possibly unforgivable, her sisters topped the list—their present day actions didn't quite help build the case of them being perceived as caring siblings either.

_MW: It's complicated._

She felt that was the best way to answer; it left parts open.

_Cinderella Man: I don't have any siblings, but I think you should all talk out your problems. No matter how unreasonable they seem, you guys already seem like a complete opposites. What it comes down to is that you are all family._

_MW: We are way too different. As far as talking, I'd rather not. When I was younger I might have tried but they've done nothing that's shown me our relationship can ever be sisterly and pleasant._

_Cinderella Man: What have your parents said about the situation?_

_Misty bent her head downward, she never told him her parents were no longer alive._

_MW: They're dead._

_Cinderella Man: __Oh… __I'm sorry. I didn't know I thought they traveled a lot and that's why you were left in your sisters' care._

_MW: It's fine._

_Cinderella Man: I feel bad now._

_MW: Don't._

He hadn't said anything wrong, but Misty had reasons as to why she preferred she kept the past hidden away. It was awkward to explain and she preferred people viewed her oblivious to any sufferings or angst. Everyone had their own problems to deal with in life; hers were a sprinkle of dust in comparison to others and their mountains of problems.

* * *

><p>"Reggie," Paul grumbled.<p>

"Hey, Paul, did you sleep well?" Reggie greeted light-heartedly.

"Fortunately," said Paul dryly.

"You caught me," Reggie admitted with a chuckle, placing his arms up in the air.

"I had no need, your plan to get me to wake early and arrive backfired,"

"I have Dawn to thank for that, right?" Reggie smiled and motioned Paul to enter his dorm.

"She played no part," Paul explained, "Why is it that everything involving me suddenly involves that girl?" he stressed as he routinely slid off his shoes and stored them neatly inside the coat closet.

"From what I remember you two were talking pretty late in the night," Reggie placed a hand on his brother's head, scuffling Paul's hair much to the said younger brother's discontent.

Paul scowled, "Can you please refrain from messing up my hair?" he asked.

Reggie tapped his chin as he lifted a lock of Paul's hair, "You need a haircut," he said aloud.

Paul rolled his eyes and gripped Reggie's hand, lowering it away from his hair, "Since we're discussing hair now may I remind you that your hair has grown to such extensive length; it requires a ponytail," he sneered back.

"It works for me, you on the other hand…" Reggie cut himself off, refraining from any other "snide" comments and merely grinned.

"I'll get one when I want to and frankly I have no desire for one at the moment," said Paul smugly as he crossed his arms. Realizing that his words could be converted to something else in his brother's mind, he sighed, "I know what you're assuming. The reason I'm refusing to get a haircut at this moment is not because Dawn likes men with long hair," he added.

Reggie smirked and patted Paul on the back, "I wasn't even thinking that," he said with a chuckle. "You know, I can't wait to meet her,"

Paul nearly choked, "Meet her?" he spit out.

Reggie nodded, "Well you found her, right? You told her that, didn't you?" he nudged Paul's crossed arms, but his brother didn't react.

"I know who she is," Paul admitted, "I didn't… I never told her I knew,"

"But you will, right?" Reggie said in a hopeful tone.

Paul refused to look Reggie in the eye and instead focused his vision on the ground. Reggie knew Paul well enough know what actions corresponded with what feeling. Call it brothers intuition; Reggie had a feeling there was a deeper reason as to why Paul hadn't mumbled a single word.

Paul's eyes flew back to meet Reggie's, "No," he answered dryly.

Reggie's mouth was open, "What?! Why not?"

"She doesn't need to know," Paul reasoned.

"She has a right to know," Reggie argued back.

"Don't make me laugh; if she wants she can figure it out herself," Paul brushed off.

Reggie arched his eyebrows, he was pretty sure before but now he was a hundred percent with his theory. Paul was..

"You're afraid," Reggie expressed, "It's to feel this way, but you don't need to be,"

Paul chuckled obnoxiously, "Fear? Are you implying that I'm scared of a teenage girl and what, her bag of fabrics and make-up?" he taunted.

"You're afraid of actually meeting her," Reggie theorized.

"I'm sure she's a scary sight," Paul answered sarcastically. "I'll need to watch my back, there's no telling what she'll do—attack me with foundation perhaps? Braid my hair? "I'm sure she'll like Paul Shinji just as well," answered Reggie in a more serious tone.

"Where in Hell did you get the idea that she has given me insecurities?" Paul snapped.

"I didn't need to go to Hell, I know you well enough, Paul," Reggie testified as he reached into Paul's pocket and picked up the phone with his fingertips.

"What are you doing now?" Paul hissed; his patience was wearing down by the second.

Reggie twirled the phone around, like a toy almost. "You don't need to hide behind this phone," he began. "Whether you'll tell me or not, I don't need an affirmation that I'm correct,"

"I'm not hiding behind anything," Paul growled.

"Your fear," answered Reggie. "You aren't invisible, brother, no one is. We all have insecurities, and this is one of yours,"

"The relationship Dawn and I share is none of your concern. It's fine as it is and that's that," announced Paul dryly.

Reggie barely knew much about this mysterious "Dawn" kid Paul was acquainted with. He knew some of her interests and shards of her personality, but she was just a mystery to him as Paul might be to her. He was sure Paul might have drifted her off to ensure she wouldn't uncover the truth. From all the bits and pieces he garnered, Dawn was a force.

In the short time she has known Paul; his brother was immediately awakening from a spell he was under. A spell their father implanted on him years ago; Dawn was some form of light to him. She knew nothing about him; she had nothing to judge him of. No matter the circumstances the pair met under, they were clear of whatever tags reality gave them—part of the reason, Reggie believed; Paul preferred masking himself from her.

Neither make-up nor other feminine knick-knacks were the weapon Dawn wielded. She was merely herself, and her heart was the greatest weapon she could possibly use. Paul, he hypothesized, was not only insecure—but he was personally uncomfortable with how close the two had become. Dawn was an optimist, he was a pessimist—yet both found ways to get along, and Reggie believed she genuinely cared for Paul.

"It's none of my concern, but it should be yours. This girl… She cares about you, I can tell and I have yet to meet her," Reggie said observantly.

Paul's eyes amplified the moment he muttered the word "cares", it was as if Reggie said a foreign word to him. He needed to hear it, though Reggie knew he could only confirm so much. He couldn't quite speak for Dawn; though Reggie held on to the string of hope that she'll be able to prove all his ideas true.

Reggie glanced at the phone before eventually handing it back to Paul, who immediately stuffed it in his pocket.

They had dinner; the topic wasn't mentioned for the rest of the night. The conversation obviously stuck to Paul's mind, the littlest of actions indicated to Reggie that Paul was taking in his words.

He prayed, yearned that Paul absorbed everything and considered the possibility of revealing to Dawn who he was.

* * *

><p>Wow, I don't remember when the last time I published a chapter this short was lol. Next chapter I can guarantee is focused on the part with Ursula, Dawn, and others. I'll try to have it up as soon as possible, I do most of my writing during the weekend but I have a history test Friday (I can't go trick or treating because of it cries).<p> 


	17. The mirror has two faces

Persian—Thank you:D

Ready to Fly—Thanks for the review. Yeah, Ash totally does xD

Guest—Thanks c:

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Ficreader-Thank you so much for all your reviews:D Yep, I now know what R&R means lol. Omg you were my 100th review! I honestly didn't think I'd pass that milestone until this update. You get that special honor omg c:. Thank you so much again!

I've passed 100,000+ words and 100 reviews. I honestly don't know what to say..I'm speechless. Just. Thank you to everyone who ever read, reviewed, or both. This chapter is for all of you (and I also dedicate it to Ficreader for being my 100th reviewer)

* * *

><p>Whatever they were learning was challenging. Dawn slipped for the third time in a row causing Fantina to shake her head at Dawn's inability to "keep up." That was normal and expected—the next part was not.<p>

Ursula pulled aside Dawn and sent her words of encouragement

"It's alright, it is pretty hard," Ursula said, understanding Dawn's struggle.

While the other members of the class took a short break, Ursula demonstrated the proper technique and added her own tips in between. Dawn never thought Ursula was a horrific dancer, no matter how dreadful her personality had been. The coral-haired girl was perfectly in sync and glided across the floor with ease.

Since the first play rehearsal, Ursula stuck with her promise to treat Dawn more nicely. She still kept her invitation up in the air but never attempted to guilt Dawn into attending. Misty was still highly skeptical of the sudden personality change; she claimed it was unrealistic for Ursula to undergone a sudden change of heart all because Misty's words affected her.

Dawn was cautious, but she truly wanted to give Ursula a chance. She believed people could change for the better; no one was static in their character. Everyone will mature, grow, and in the future every individual soul will differentiate from their teenage selves. There was also that hurt gleam in Ursula's eyes from something Misty had said; Dawn had never since that emotion cross the usual in-control Ursula.

Ursula stepped aside in order to allow Dawn to "redeem herself." The bluenette nodded and began, the steps were precise and fast-faced, if she wasn't quick enough the entire dance would be off. Dawn began with much thought; she had no desire to mess up again. Her feet tapped the floor a step-slower than they should, causing the sound of her shoes to become off-beat with the entire musical sequence. Dawn groaned in a whisper-like voice and skipped the next move, transitioning to the swirling part immediately. Balancing on one foot, she pirouetted gracefully—though off sync.

Ursula pressed her finger down on the iPod's pause button. "Let's try it again, you did it better," Ursula complimented with a wide smile.

Dawn grinned back, which to her felt just as different as Ursula's current attitude. "It's hard," Dawn admitted.

Ursula tossed Dawn her pink water bottle, her eyes glowed reminiscently, "I took dance when I was younger and that aspect was difficult for everyone."

Dawn caught the bottle with ease and flipped the cap off. She brought the water bottle to her lips and drank almost desperately. The water was cool and definitely refreshing; though she ended up finishing what was left of it.

"Aww," Dawn cooed sadly as she sank to her knees. Frankly the sixteen to twenty ounces was still a lot less than she needed.

Ursula chuckled light-heartedly, had it been prior to the rehearsal, she would've teased the life out of Dawn. "You know, you're pretty good too," Ursula began, "You're definitely better at other things, but you're not bad. Everyone has their skills and weaknesses," She walked over to her bag and opened it up, taking out something Dawn couldn't identify from her angle. Ursula grinned as she strolled back; the item she picked out was hidden behind her back.

Dawn cocked her head to the side, "What's that?" she asked, standing up to see if she could get a better angle.

Ursula flung her arms out from behind her and softly threw a full bottle of water through the air. Dawn caught it, nearly tripping. She shivered; the bottle of water was cold, frostier in comparison to her own before she consumed it all in one gulp.

"Take some," Ursula then winked.

"Thanks," Dawn said politely. She blinked; this was Ursula of all people. She wasn't just acting kind; Ursula was treating Dawn like a friend of hers. The kind, little things Ursula did showed her much effort she exerted to making up for all those years. She was intoxicating Dawn's caution with her hospitality; in fact, Dawn was starting to give Ursula the benefit of the doubt.

"Ursula, I can't wait for your party," A girl said with excitement.

Dawn recalled the invitation. She never declined it; she told Ursula she'd think about it.

The bell rang; as everyone was leaving Dawn went over to Ursula.

"I think I'm going to accept your offer," said Dawn happily.

Ursula grinned, "That's great!" she cheered. "But your friend? The redhead: will she be okay with it?"

"Misty," Dawn corrected. "She kind of is suspicious," Kind of was actually an understatement, "But no need to worry, she'll be fine with it. Misty's really nice, she just feels uneasy because of what happened with us in the past… but once she sees how you really have changed, she'll warm up to you."

* * *

><p>"I cannot believe you accepted her invitation," Misty said in disbelief.<p>

Dawn, Misty, and Drew were all sitting at the usual lunch table when Dawn broke the news. Misty nearly spit out her chicken while Drew just raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"I'm still careful, but she really has proven her point," Dawn admitted.

Drew shook his head, "I'm sure being talked down to by some girl she never knew made her realize the faults in her actions," he chimed in sarcastically.

Reminiscent to what occurred weeks ago, Drew and Misty took sides while Dawn was parallel to them both.

Dawn swirled her spoon through her soup, "What do you think she'll do to me in front of all those people?" she asked with a tint of sarcasm to match Drew's.

"See, I don't know," Misty confessed, "I just know there is no way she can suddenly change with the snap of a finger,"

"Misty can be frightening," Drew said with a smirk; Misty glared murderously. "Still, her personality change doesn't add up," he placed his thumb on his chin and sank deep in thought.

"Most of the play crew is going, it's not like I'll be left alone with her and a couple of murder weapons," Dawn reasoned.

"That is true," Drew agreed. "She can't do anything to you without making herself look bad,"

Drew was still highly suspicious, but Ursula was crafty. Whatever she was planning had to make her appear innocent, but the likes of Misty and Drew put together couldn't figure out her secret agenda.

"I'll go and I'll be careful," Dawn stressed.

Drew knew what Ursula's motivation could be. Dawn apparently wiped the floor during the first rehearsal, from what he knew, Ursula would feel disconcert knowing Dawn was more accomplished. She would be envious and she'd do something, anything to ensure Dawn did not upstage her opening night.

"Girls," he muttered under his breath amidst rolling his eyes.

"What?" Misty spat.

Drew raised a finger, "When girls fight like this it's more frightening than a physical fight between boys,"

"Ursula and I are not fighting," Dawn corrected.

"Not yet at least. Either way Misty and Ursula kind of are, from Misty's perspective," Drew mused.

Misty clenched her fist, "We aren't fighting… Yet."

"Since Misty can't come, why don't you accompany me, Mr. Drew Hayden?" Dawn thought up. Misty was unable due to a project with Ash; surely Dawn wouldn't want Misty to miss that.

"I'll be okay if Drew goes," said Misty as she turned to Drew.

Drew kept quiet for a few moments before..

"I can't," he burst out. "I'm visiting Soledad."

Misty understood, she was his sister and he did miss her very much. She wouldn't want to deprive him of a day spent with his sister, especially since Soledad was a great sister—unlike her own.

"What about Leaf?" suggested Drew.

Misty turned to face Dawn, "Ask her," she practically ordered.

"Fine, I will," promised Dawn roughly. "I should ask Ursula about it first and foremost, since it's closed to the cast and crew,"

"She can go in my place then," Misty scuffed.

Drew felt some tension begin to boil between the two friends. He coughed deeply, trying to slice through whatever began to build up.

"So, how are your online boyfriends?" he abruptly asked. It was the first topic that came to mind that could hopefully cause the two to aim their anger at him instead.

"Not so loud," Misty snarled in a low voice.

Drew smirked, "So you both have entered a relationship with them?"

"No," answered Dawn; she was blushing.

"Your face doesn't match your answer," Drew pointed out while Dawn sank deeper into her chair.

"We're just friends," Dawn mumbled.

"Sure," Drew responded sarcastically. "I really don't know whether to call that Cinderella Man guy a boyfriend of yours, Mist," He flipped his hair off his face.

"Why the sudden change of mind?" Misty inquired.

"You kind of have someone already. Why make the love triangle a love square?" he asked rhetorically.

"You've been reading into things far too deeply," Misty hissed back.

"He has, at least for me," Dawn straightened her posture and burst into a giggle.

"What's that supposed to mean? May I remind you that you meet one guy and you assume it's 'him'."

"I have proof," Dawn defended.

"I really, really want to meet him," Misty parroted Dawn from about a week ago, her voice was pitched slightly higher and had a tint of desperation inside.

Dawn buried her face in her hands, "I did not sound like that," she said, sounding muffled. She peeled her hands off, "I do want to meet him, and we are friends after all. As far as anything else... I don't know. We don't discuss love lives because none of us have one. I don't at least. Maybe he might."

"I doubt it, he doesn't seem the least bit interested in girls," Drew interrupted. From the moment Dawn mentioned allegedly meeting him, Drew's mental image of Prince Charming (he couldn't believe that he had to call him that in his own thoughts) was distorted. Paul suddenly manifested as the image of that guy Dawn kept talking about. In a way, what he said pertained to Paul.

"You have a point!" Dawn's eyes suddenly glowed, her energy raised within a ten second time span. "What if he's gay and has a boyfriend?"

Drew nearly choked, his image was now Paul. The thought of Paul being gay with a boyfriend was a one hundred and eighty personality twist.

"Why don't you ask him about that?" Drew suggested. He'd love to hear what that guy's reaction was.

Misty chuckled, "Alright then, go ahead and ask. If it ends up becoming an uncomfortable situation remember Drew suggested it," she winked before grabbing her tray and walking off to throw it away.

"I will," Dawn agreed. "Now I'm beginning to understand Paul. Maybe that's why he's so distant, maybe he hasn't told anyone about this yet. His dad seems… If I can help him in every way I'll gladly help him come out!" Dawn's face lightened up as she imagined herself helping Paul in any way she could.

"Paul?" muttered Drew.

Dawn grinded her lower set of teeth between her front set, "His real name. It was kind of secret that he didn't want me to say," she explained.

"It's... Paul?" He needed to know he heard it correctly.

"Yes," Dawn clarified.

Drew's mouth was open, which Misty pointed out as she came back.

"Flies will enter…"

Drew shrugged, closing his mouth.

The guy's name was Paul, Dawn's description matched perfectly with Paul Shinji. There was, of course, that guy Dawn met that she firmly believes is Paul. Drew had to keep in mind that Paul was a common name, but the situation that both Pauls were similar in personality was just too much to be a coincidence.

Drew counted Shinji to be the second choice under that mysterious glasses-wearing guy that Dawn previously met. He did comfort her, and Paul Shinji seemed to have the empathy of a trashcan. Though he did help Dawn once and always had a certain curiosity when problems involved her. Their interaction was, however,limited, and Drew lacked evidence.

Everything began to suddenly click.

* * *

><p>"So I can't find out till Saturday, huh?" Leaf bitterly crumpled a note and threw in the garbage can.<p>

"Leaf!" Misty called out.

"Hey Mist," Leaf greeted.

"Did you know Dawn decided to attend Ursula's invitation?"

Leaf rolled her eyes, rolling her hands into fists she shook her head, "No, I did not,"

Misty nodded, "Well, she is. I can tell you see something wrong with Ursula's little façade."

Leaf let out a sour chuckle, "Anyone can, it's clear as day."

Misty scratched the back of her head, "Anyone except Dawn,"

"Sadly," sighed Leaf. "You should probably go,"

"Can't," Misty answered, "Drew's unavailable either. I was wondering if you wanted to go."

"What time Saturday?" Leaf asked.

"Umm," Misty lightly tapped her foot, "Six of seven?" she guessed.

"Damn, I can't," Leaf groaned. "I have tutoring with my apparent perfect match,"

"Perfect match?" Misty questioned.

"I took a damn quiz and I was matched to some guy. I was told we matched up pretty well," Leaf elaborated, breathing heavily out of her nostrils.

"Good luck."

"I'll be fine. Little Ms. Dawn Berlitz over here is the problem," Leaf shook her head.

"Drew said it's best to just trust Dawn," Misty informed. "She's my best friend, of course I'm concerned. We just don't want our friend to get hurt; if you only knew how she coped with the Brianna incident,"

Dawn believing she met a friend allowed her to look at the optimistic outcome of the whole incident. Misty doubted it was her friend over the phone, but then she began to feel that it was Dawn's way of coping. Of course, the bluenette also did want to really meet him.

"We can't just stop her from attending. We just have to trust her judgment on whatever Ursula decides to throw," Leaf said, and she and Misty simultaneously breathed out in defeat.

* * *

><p>"Where the Hell did that come from?" Paul growled as he dropped his phone on the couch.<p>

"Huh?" May was quietly drawing when Paul suddenly became enraged by something involving his phone.

"I'm not..." He gritted his teeth and formulated a response in his head. Picking up his phone roughly, he slid out the keyboard and hastily moved his fingers across it. It was as if he was stabbing every single key; whatever upset him had to be something unsettling.

_Paul: Where in Hell did you garner that idea? I am not gay._

_Dawn: Oh... well, Drew said you didn't seem interested in girls._

_Paul has known who Dawn is for a while. Yet despite the hours logged of conversation she never used Drew's name. He figured it was an error on her part; but that was not the point._

_Paul: Who's Drew and how does he know?_

_Dawn: Ohhhh. He's my friend. The one Cinderella Man might know from the first day. He's the guy who lives with us. I don't think I've used his name before... but it's okay. That protective wall isn't there anymore._

_Paul: How did that idea enter his head?_

_Dawn: Well, I really haven't thought about that. He knows about you so maybe he just assumed?_

Drew barely knew "Prince Charming" but he knew Paul fairly well. Paul had an idea on Drew's character as well. May and Drew knew each other through one identity while Ash, Paul, Misty, and Dawn had two personas. Paul never thought Drew of all people would figure something out this quick; he was good. If anything, it was far easier for Paul and Ash to figure out then their side could. MW was simply Misty Waterflower while Dawn was still Dawn. Ash was dubbed with a ridiculous nickname and for a couple months Paul was too.

The question was why Drew hadn't brought his suspicions up to Dawn or Misty. Paul wasn't sure exactly how much Drew knew, but he must have established a connection between Paul and "Prince Charming."

"That grass head," Paul muttered.

"Grass head?" May repeated.

"Yes," muffled Paul.

May averted her gaze, "You mean Drew?" she inquired.

"What do you know about him?" Paul asked as he temporarily slid his phone into his pocket.

"He likes to play the piano," May answered. She seemed confused with Paul's sudden question.

"Now, what do you know about his life?"

May raised an eyebrow, "Why are you asking?"

Paul couldn't just tell May that Ash and he met Misty and Dawn months ago. It was a subject that they preferred hidden partly due to what might come out of May knowing. She could unintentionally mention it to Delia which would result in Ash getting lectured about the dangers of what happened. Ash never wanted to tell Paul either, how Paul found out was a complete accident.

Paul beamed with realization. There was a giant connection between Misty, Drew, May, and Ash: Gary Oak. That's why Paul encouraged Ash to steer clear of "MW" knowing Ash would feel guilty withdrawing an important piece of information from May. He had done so thinking May felt something towards Ash at the time, though once Drew came in the picture, whatever hunch Paul had washed away.

Drew seemed fond of May and he deeply cared for both his friends. Misty and May both had the displeasure of being with Gary Oak; at the same time. There was uncertainty about how someone—specifically May—might take it. She wasn't over Gary, and knowing what happened with her father she might not be able to withstand the truth.

"Paul; Paul… Paul!?" May was waving a hand in front of his face due to his failure to respond.

"Yes, I can see you," he snarled.

"Why are you suddenly interested in Drew?" May crossed her arms as she awaited his responds, her eyebrows loosely knitted together.

Paul exhaled, "No need to be envious; I have no intention of taking him from you," he said sourly. Dawn's question was still fresh in his mind.

"N-No I wasn't implying that," May said, flustered. She lightly tugged on her shirt sleeve and kept her stare off of Paul, focusing instead of the rug.

"I was just wondering since you have been spending some time with him lately," Paul said.

"I really don't know much. I never thought of that," May said reflectively. "Still, why do you suddenly care?"

Paul solved the puzzle; May's help was no longer needed. He discerned that he presented May with a bizarre sense of curiosity over all his personal questions.

"I think he's an okay individual," Paul explained. He contemplated what else to add to cover up his previous words. "Don't be afraid to give him a chance," Paul wanted to slap himself; he had absolutely no creativity so the best he could improvise with was relationship blessings.

Of all the things, this is all he could do.

"W-what do you mean?" May stuttered.

"I was pretty clear, was I not?" He rolled his eyes irritably.

"What do you mean by afraid?"

"You know damn well what I mean," Paul pointed out. May swallowed a lump in her throat, his message became clear.

"You were never like this with—"

"We're not friends nor are we enemies. Gary was a mistake, Angie will end up becoming a mistake, and Drew is neither of them," Paul couldn't care less, but he needed something to say that could cover up why he was so curious.

May smiled, "I didn't think you'd care that much,"

"I don't," Paul was blunt, though May took it another way. "I just felt inclined to offer my opinion, I am usually right,"

"Well, thanks," chirped May.

"For?"

"Caring,"

"Sure," Paul muttered.

* * *

><p>While it would ruin the entire party atmosphere to be constantly checking to ensure Ursula was not trying to kill her, Dawn did it because her friends slightly begged for it. No one agreed that Dawn was making the right decision. Dawn was not too trusting of Ursula, but she had no reason to believe Ursula would do anything to her. It was a pretty public party, like Drew mentioned, anything Ursula could attempt would harm her own reputation. And from Leaf's input on the subject, Dawn also promised to avoid going into dark rooms with Ursula. In addition, Leaf pointed out that Ursula could pour a gallon of milk on her and take embarrassing pictures.<p>

"Am I making the right decision?" Dawn reflected. She was using her own judgment, which was an open one. She was willing to give Ursula a chance, though she too had doubts. It was difficult to constantly remind herself that Ursula could be faking everything; the pink-haired girl was effective. Maybe Dawn's opinion steamed from that odd gleam Ursula had in her eyes, perhaps it came from knowing that people could change.

Paul didn't change per se, but he definitely loosened up a little.

Dawn rang the doorbell once, her finger slid off the button lazily. She wore a pink skirt, pink boots, and a white blouse with a vest on top.

Ursula opened the door; she was dressed fancier than Dawn. Then again, Ursula always wore extravagant attires. The voice of Misty suddenly popped into Dawn's head, egging Dawn to check to see if the others were dressed formally.

She leaned her head to the side and gazed around—her outfit was definitely not out of place. The notion that Ursula misinformed Dawn was immediately shut down.

"Is there something wrong?" Ursula asked, taking note of Dawn's unusual curiosity as to what was happening inside.

"No," Dawn said cheekily.

"I'm glad you made it," Ursula winked and gestured Dawn to come inside.

"Hi Dawn," Iris greeted, Georgia was right beside her.

For whatever reason, Dawn always felt a negative vibe between the two girls. Iris allied with Ursula, but she never seemed as threatening. She was also kinder and stayed particularly quiet. Georgia would constantly bat her eyelashes; even if Ursula was trying to change for the better, Dawn wondered how Georgia would transition.

"Hi Iris," said Dawn, "Georgia, how are you?" The bluenette sent Georgia a radiating smile, which the other girl forcibly returned.

There was Dawn's answer; Georgia wouldn't warm up as easily.

* * *

><p>Leaf tapped her foot impatiently. She's had many tutors -none were very effective—which is why she highly doubted this college student would be of any use. She cursed Brianna and to a degree Angie, if it weren't for them reporting her to the school, the academy wouldn't have noticed Leaf's appalling academic and behavioral records.<p>

"How did I even get accepted?" Leaf muttered aloud with amusement. She had no money or pedigree that could cover up her academic failure.

She speculated they felt sorry for her—that seemed to be the only plausible theory. Her middle school grades were considerably better—she had A's, B's, and a C in the dreadful subject known as English. She felt like smacking herself when she realized that her grades being far higher was also a factor

She glanced back at the clock; her tutor was running late—late by ten minutes to be more specific. She growled, the school fretted that she may skip out when the apparent Mr. A-average-in-high-school college student could have ditched. Being great at application and memorization didn't always correlate with mannerism.

This man could report her actions—actually, he had to. She couldn't curse him out for wasting her time; unless he was the laid-back type, but Leaf highly doubted that.

Leaf was lying lazily across her couch when the doorbell rang. She rolled her eyes, now she had to get off and walk all the way over to welcome her damned tutor. She waited to see if it would ring again—she secretly hoped it wasn't him. The sound of the bell echoed through her empty living room. Hesitantly, she rolled off the couch and landed with a thud on the floor. She picked herself off the floor and adjusted her hair and clothing—she took careful notice that rolling off was not the best idea.

Leaf attributed everything to that damned tutor. While she promised Dawn she wouldn't screw this up, Leaf had every right to be mad. She clawed the door handle and unlocked it feistily.

"You better have a da—" Her eyes amplified, her knees suddenly became wobbly. Tightening her grip on the door handle, she closed the door once again. Her breathing suddenly increased, and not in a good way. She needed a couple seconds to take it in. She rested her back on her door, the door handle still within her grasp. "This can't be, this... no," she growled.

He rang the doorbell once again. Leaf groaned and reopened it.

"Is it Leaf?" he asked, scratching his head.

"Yes," Leaf answered in a level-headed voice.

"Are you alright?" he placed a hand on her forehead.

The touch felt cold, chills traveled down her spine. Clenching her first she shook his hand off—she knew him damn well enough.

"Yes, Gary, I'm fine," she half-spat.

Gary furrowed his eyebrow; his clipboard was right under his arm. He pulled it out, examining the words printed on the sheets.

"How do you know my name?" he interrogated.

Leaf smirked devilishly, "You really want to know how?" she snarled under her breath

"Wait a minute? B-Blue!?" Gary blurted.

Leaf smacked her face; he was hopeless. "My name's Leaf, not Blue," she corrected.

Gary ceased his trembling, "I-Is that the truth?"

Leaf nodded.

Gary swallowed the lump lunged deeply in his throat, "S-sorry, you guys just look alike,"

And by Gary's nervous reaction Leaf presumed Blue was an ex-girlfriend of his. An ex that she bet did something when she discovered Gary was nothing more than a playboy.

"I'm from Pallet," Leaf explained. "We were neighbors-Ash, you, and I?"

His eyes lit up, he swiped his hand across his forehead and placed the other arm around her shoulders. "I'm relieved to know you aren't Blue."

Leaf slightly squirmed; she was in disbelief that this preteen version of her had returned. She was older, she should know better than to like Gary Oak's deliberate (and quite blunt) flirting. She saw what he did to many girls, how he treated others, she was even a secondhand witness with Misty. He was a jackass, though he was smooth.

"It was mentioned that was my name was Leaf. How could this Blue girl become an option?" she questioned.

Gary squeezed in closer, swiveling his head to the side he smirked. "Blue was devious. She could've used you in order to get revenge on me,"

Leaf rolled his arm off politely. Damn it I wasn't trying to get his arm off that softly. Now it appears that I'm flustered or some other bullshit.

"Revenge?" Leaf asked. "What happened?"

Gary's expression deadpanned, touching her shoulder he leaned in and whispered, "Let's just say you don't need to know,"

Leaf rolled her eyes. Acting courteous was frustrating, what she truly yearned to do was a grab a bucket of chilling ice water and dump it all over his head. And she would watch with a vengeful grin on her face as he squirmed and groaned over how cold—

Gary was caressing a strand of her hair, "You've sure grown a lot, Leah," he mused, using the name on her birth certificate.

Leaf pitied the entire female race if that's what they fell for. He was far too obvious to the point where it wasn't smooth but instead corny. She pondered what spell Gary performed that bewitched Misty or the other girls he's been with. She felt that she should know his tricks; she's known him since childhood after all.

She whipped her hair to her over her shoulders; the silky brown strand slipped smoothly out of Gary's fingers. "Tutoring, remember?" Leaf reminded with a small grin.

Gary winked back in response. He allowed his bag to fall off his shoulders, catching it, he lazily leaned it on one of Leaf's sofas—her favorite in particular, the couch with a light powdery blue shade. He sat down up-right and flipped through the documents withheld in the clipboard. "You coming?" he asked.

Leaf nodded and took a seat on the couch vertical of where Gary sat. Gary frowned, "It's not like I have a contagious disease," he joked, patting the empty spot beside him.

"Not counting STDs you don't," she muttered, the words were just a tad inaudible for Gary to make out.

"Hmm?"

"I'm fine here," Leaf said firmly.

Gary shook his head, "Leaf, I'm your tutor. We're also Pallet Town buddies," he announced proudly. He pointed at the unoccupied spot with both hands.

"Probably why we got matched up in the first place," Leaf mumbled.

Gary was able to translate her under-the-breath comments that instance. "Maybe…" He read a certain page and smiled, "maybe not," he added, pointing at a certain page. Leaf was unable to read from her distance and had no choice but to come over. She peered at the document: It was the learning test she was required to take for the matching process. Gary's results were on the left, hers was on the right.

Theirs answered were in-sync, a perfect match—educationally at least.

"Visual learner," Leaf read.

"I guess the common home town was just a hidden bonus," Gary chuckled. "I'm glad for that. You may be surprised but I was honestly nervous about meeting you,"

"Meeting me?" Leaf croaked.

Gary grinned, "Not like that. I was anxious over the whole process. I kept thinking, 'what if I don't succeed' and 'what if my student is a total wreck'; luckily, I got you," he complimented.

"You obviously didn't read my record," Leaf commented dryly.

Gary ripped a piece off the clipboard and crumpled it into a ball; he twirled it around his fingers and smirked. "This?"

Leaf was at lost for words. She merely gawked and nodded meekly.

Gary threw it inside a trash can, "Just because you had many detentions and your grades aren't the best doesn't mean it reflects your personality," he stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "And your personality is amazing," he said in a low voice.

Leaf plastered a fake smile on her face. She now understood his method; he adjusted to fit the girl. He was different yet the same with Misty, May, and previous girls before them. She configured that he made them feel absolutely amazing about themselves. A warm, fuzzy feeling passed through them as a result of his encouraging words. He was charismatic and he put on a façade of the ideal guy, one that completely understood the individual.

His words weren't genuine, he couldn't care less about who Leaf was—it was all about what she was, just a potential candidate to his growing list.

The sad thing was; she was waiting for someone to mouth those words to her.

Unfortunately, that someone wasn't expected nor desired to be Gary.

* * *

><p><em>Why did I attend?<em> Dawn thought.

She wasn't being mistreated in any particular way, the party just felt pointless and empty without a friend by her side. Drew wasn't beside her acting like the cynical pest he was, Misty most definitely wasn't chatting with her about God knows what, Leaf wasn't joking around, Brock wasn't enlightening anyone—and the list went on.

She had no clue who anyone was, some waved, recognizing her as the girl from practice—but that was it. Ursula would come by occasionally, but she had other guests to entertain; she was the hostess after all.

Dawn was beginning to believe coming was a mistake; not due to the fact that her friends were highly skeptical—but because she had no one with her. Iris came by and the two conversed for a few minutes before she too left. They were by no means enemies or friends, as kind as Iris always seemed, Dawn barely knew her.

Ursula's home had an antique charm to it. The wallpaper was printed in a checkered pattern colored with beige and dark brown. The carpeting had a slight red tint while the furniture was coordinated to the wall colors. The ceiling was particular high in the living room, the stairs fused into a tiny curl form with old engraved patterns.

The wood floors also shined auburn. In addition, numerous paintings hung around the house. The old textures didn't seem too fitting despite Ursula's abuse of frilly dresses. The girl favored pink and purple, Dawn was incredibly astonished to find that the house wasn't an enlarged doll house.

Ursula smiled lightly at what appeared to be a joke. Her curled pigtails seemed to bounce in the air—honestly; she looked like the living incarnate of a doll. Too bad her actions aren't of one, Dawn's conscience scorned.

"I'm going crazy," Dawn muttered as she buried her head in her knees.

"The bathroom's on the far left," Georgia said snidely.

Dawn twitched; she wasn't talking to her at all. She didn't even need to—On second thought, perhaps she could freshen up. She got up and followed what Georgia instructed. Knocking, someone impatiently yelled back at her in response.

"At least I knocked," Dawn grumbled. She gazed up at the stairs and assumed there was a second bathroom somewhere. The second floor was desolate; Dawn pondered if she was even permitted to walk up the stairs. Her eyes swung around the area, looking out for either Iris or Ursula—

A thought swamped through her mind. It, again, involved Ursula doing something horrendous. No one was up there, if she was to take a single step some mysterious transparent substance could be waiting for it. It could be poisonous, what if she tripped—what if the upstairs room had a torture chamber awaiting her and that's where—

"Ugggghh!" Dawn groaned, flailing her hands up in the air. "No need to worry! I'm not going to die!" she chanted louder than she should have.

"Dude, there's a second bathroom upstairs towards the left," Some girl said dryly, rolling her eyes at Dawn's expressive behavior.

Dawn felt a warm sensation perk up around her cheeks, "I-It's not l-like that," she stuttered, though she ended up following the girl's direction.

She strolled over by the staircase and breathed out; whatever awaited her upstairs was not a murderous tool. Dawn huffed and valiantly lifted her leg and placed it reluctantly on the first step, she swirled it around—her skeptical side was taking on dangerously high levels. She prayed to the Lord that her sanity would be fine after today.

I thought we put down the murdering theory, Dawn, Drew's voice sneered in her head.

At least she's being cautious, Misty's voice defended. Dawn smiled. It was exactly what she pictured them saying.

"Is this it?" Dawn twisted the knob and entered the dark room. Her hand wandered across the wall until she felt the plastic switch. She flicked it, the whole room immediately lit up. Hers eyes widened—she was in uncharted territory first of all, second of all she accidentally opened up Ursula's room.

Dawn slid off her ring and began twirling it. She accidentally lost her grasp, and the ring tumbled off and began rolling across the room. She nervously pressed her teeth together. If Ursula saw her, she might denounce her peace treaty. Dawn knew that if Ursula was in her position Dawn would understand her accidentally walking into her room. However, Dawn wouldn't know what to say if she saw Ursula snooping around, especially considering Ursula's history.

No one seemed to take notice of the open light, which Dawn decided to turn off. She grabbed her phone and utilized it as makeshift flashlight. She slowly shut the door as well and began her search.

Prior to turning off the lights, Dawn was able to mentally record what it looked like. She bent and held her phone backwards. Ursula's room was certainly tidy, and,well… pink. She looked like duck with the way she was walking; thankfully she was alone, if someone just came in she'd be extremely flustered.

"Where are you, ring?" she whispered as she continued searching, checking behind the table. She prayed it wasn't underneath any drawers; she would take far longer if that were the case.

Dawn felt something small underneath her foot; she moved her leg and picked up the object. She sighed with relief as she slipped it back onto her finger. Her eyes flew up; she was standing right in front of a large portrait of what seemed to be Ursula's family. She shined her phone onto the painting.

Ursula seemed very young at the time of its completion, probably around seven or eight. She was frowning as she sat stiffly, as if she didn't want to have a drawing done of her. A lady, Dawn presumed was her mother, had a hand on her shoulder. It looked as if the mother was lightly squeezing her shoulder in order for her to keep proper posture. A man was distanced from the two; he had black hair and blue eyes. He seemed unhappy as well. He seemed incredibly young compared to her mother, who had matching pink hair with Ursula.

"That's her father?" Dawn said under her breath. She couldn't stop staring at the picture, there was something that drew her too it.

She slapped herself, she needed to leave. Standing idly and having Ursula come in and see would not be pleasant.

She left and closed the door on her way out. She pivoted and was ready to walk away when-

"Do you need anything?" Ursula called out.

Dawn clenched her fist, her eyes amplified. She wondered how long Ursula was out there.

Dawn's breathing increased; she was still slightly intimidated by Ursula. "Sorry, I thought that was the bathroom and walked in and I dropped my ring—"

"Its fine," Ursula said nonchalantly. "It's over there, by the way," she pointed at door with a small painting on the side.

"Thanks," said Dawn.

Ursula waited for the sound of the door closing before she went inside her room. She turned on the lights and looked around. Everything was intact.

She pranced over to the portrait hanging up. Her hand caressed the painting, but abruptly stopped when she noticed the part with the man.

Her face grimaced, and she immediately huffed and walked away.

"_You_ shouldn't have done that," Ursula muttered bitterly.

* * *

><p>Leaf let out a sigh of relief; she survived the first of main tutoring sessions with Gary Oak. She only had six or so months' worth left.<p>

"So, I'll see you on Wednesday?" Leaf asked, she wasn't clear on the dates she was required see him.

"Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday," Gary clarified.

"Three days a week?" Leaf said, sounding disappointed.

Gary smiled; he might have interpreted her displeasure differently. "Could be more if you want, I'm not that busy. If you need help, I'm here,"

"Three might be too much," said Leaf sharply.

Gary raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" He was seemingly taken back by her harsh tone.

"Well, you wouldn't want this to take away from your studying, right?" Leaf said softly, unconsciously winking at the process.

Leaf what the Hell are you doing, her subconscious criticized.

Gary patted her back, "This is part of my job. Besides, I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing I could be helping you out instead of doing whatever,"

Leaf held back the urge to chuckle bitterly. She knew helping meant trying to hook up with; though she also admitted she was kind of leading him to believe she had something interesting. She was trying not to, but her actions spoke otherwise. It was his ability to transform into the too-good-to-be-true man straight out of every girl's dreams mixed with his charm.

And because I had a major crush on him growing up, Leaf added silently.

"Why don't we go eat somewhere today?" Gary offered.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry," Leaf denied. The moment she said that her stomach growled; it was as if her body had a mind of its own.

"Sure," he teased.

Leaf wrapped her arms around her stomach and cursed everything.

* * *

><p>Dawn's foot lightly tapped against the floor as she examined the time. She needed to find Ursula and then she would leave.<p>

Her head sprung back up, a loud gasp suddenly escaped from her throat.

"Dawn, isn't it?" The boy grinned as he adjusted his glasses.

She recognized him from ten days or so ago. He was the boy that initially followed her before talking to her about what happened.

The boy she suspected to be Paul was right in front of her eyes. She didn't have a clue whether her suspicion was right, and she had a feeling Paul wouldn't say a thing.

"I never got your name," said Dawn.

His shoulder-length black hair flipped through the air as he walked forward, "Paul," The light reflected on his glasses, causing it to light tint white.

"P-Paul?" Dawn repeated, she needed to find out if it was true.

He reached out and grabbed her hand, "I never got a chance to tell you who I was that night," he seemed to inch closer, causing Dawn to instinctively back away.

"Who are you?" she asked slightly impatiently. It was more excitement than anything.

"Does 'Prince Charming' ring a bell to you?" His lips devilishly curled into a smile as he reaffirmed his hold on her hand, this time bringing it to his lips and kissing it.

Dawn squirmed and swiped it away, "Y-You?

He seemed shocked at her reaction, "Sorry, I don't know how to react to this..."

"Prove to me you're him," Dawn said firmly.

He searched though his pocket and grabbed his phone. Unlocking the screen, he flashed the phone information—sure enough, it was his number.

He even showed the most recent conversation they had; her most recent message even appeared.

"I never told you about my social disorder," The boy said. "It's not noticeable through text at all; it causes me to act irrationally. When we talk I can correct the peculiarities but actually seeing you and telling you this activates stress," He elaborated.

He seemed perfectly fine to her during their first meeting. Dawn raised an eyebrow questionably, though her heart was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

She sighed; she knew it was unrealistic for him to be exactly how she imagined. She only had his words, everything else was missing.

"Why didn't you tell me, then?" Dawn asked.

"I was afraid of telling you that I've done some lying," He admitted. "I know I'm probably not what you expected…" he trailed off and bit his lip.

"You didn't need to lie to me," said Dawn, "I wouldn't have cared either way, what matters is what's inside your heart," she said, pointing to her own.

"You don't seem overjoyed to know it's me," He frowned.

Dawn's eyes widened, "N-no that's not it! It's just weird for me, that's why I want to talk to you more,"

"You don't believe me, right? I understand," The boy said sadly, lightly bobbing his head.

Dawn shrugged, only a select few knew about the secret. Besides, who would care about pretending to be her mysterious friend? She looked through the crowd of people, Ursula wasn't around. She slapped her head, all her ridiculous ideas—rather conspiracies—were messing with her mind.

"You want to find your father, but you haven't told anyone you care about that," "Paul" whispered into her ear.

He was the only one who knew about that.

"You... maybe.." she couldn't configure the proper words.

"Here," The boy claiming to be Paul said as he tossed Dawn a bottle of what appeared to be soda.

She barely caught it, her heart skipped a bit when she once again felt it slip. Ursula would most definitely have her head if she allowed it to slip on her couch.

He sat opposite of her and brought the open glass to his lips. Dawn flicked off the cap and did the same. Lowering it, she then licked the remaining soda off her lips.

"Tastes kinda funny," "Paul" remarked as he held up the glass.

"I saw the brand in the store, though I've never tried it. Surprisingly it tastes pretty good," Dawn said casually as she took another sip.

There was a long pause, usually the text conversations they shared were far longer and went on for hours even. She hypothesized that the difference with texting and actually speaking might have become a factor, though she knew asking more on what his "disorder" was would come later at the earliest.

"You really are something," he complimented. "No matter how troublesome you can be," he added snidely.

She smiled politely. The entire scenario played out entirely different than her imagination. She couldn't stress enough how different he seemed in person. If it weren't for the phone clue and the drop over her secret she'd be sure he was lying.

"He's my friend, regardless," Dawn mumbled out loud. "Paul" seemed to hear, and Dawn quickly chugged the remaining soda.

Her phone rang, it was getting late and she planned on exiting around this time. She glanced at "Paul", she needed to set things straight before she could think about leaving the house.

Another pause came forth; Dawn excused herself and grabbed more of the soda she was drinking earlier. As the silence continued, she just drank.

"You might be wondering about Cinderella Man, right?" He asked.

Dawn took another sip and nodded, "Yes," Her eyesight began to blur around the edges and she pressed her hand against her temples. She dropped her drink on top of the table with small amounts of liquid spilling out.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Dawn nodded and stood up, nearly tripping. "Yeahh," she cooed as she began to walk unbalanced.

Heads turn as they notice her dizzily prance around.

"Is she drunk?"

"What an idiot."

"Paul" smirked, "So, Dawn, you wanted to find out about Cinderella Man? Unfortunately for you, that task is far too advanced because you couldn't distinguish the differences between me and Shinji very well," he said under his breath inaudibly to the human ear.

* * *

><p>"Here's a strawberry milkshake, on the house since you two are a couple," The waiter teased with a wink as she handed them the large milkshake.<p>

Leaf pursued her lip, "He's my tutor,"

The woman's eyes enlarged, "Oh... well, in that case. Both of you be careful because I believe she's under eighteen and is still considered a minor," she hurriedly walked off.

Leaf crossed her arms, her patience was winding down.

"The waiter, the family, the couple, the group of teenage girls," Gary lifted both his hands up as he estimated the amount of passer-byers that assumed they were a couple.

"Might as well count the entire world," Leaf bitterly joked as she pushed the milkshake towards Gary.

"Seven billion people think we're a couple," Gary informed, pushing the milkshake her direction.

"We barely know each other," Leaf rolled her eyes as she moved it back his way.

"You take it, you did end up paying for the whole thing after all," said Leaf.

"I don't mind paying," said Gary as he wrapped his fingers around it and kept it on her side.

"I'll pay you back next time we have a session," Leaf promised.

"No need,"

"There is a need," Leaf said impatiently.

Being on a "date" with Gary Oak in a public area was somehow easier than being inside her living room. And by easier she meant focusing on the negatives of the idiotic playboy's "plans" to get her. She had no justification as to why she felt her discontent with him boil up out of her home, but she thoroughly enjoyed thinking of scenarios in which he got embarrassed.

"Since neither of us want this, let's just give it to the little girl over there," Gary suggested as he pointed using his nose at a little black-haired kid by the toy machine.

"Hey," Gary got off his seat and approached the child.

The girl looked confused, "I'll ask mommy," she said as she swiveled to go tap her mother's back.

The woman Leaf presumed to be her mother angrily knitted her eyebrows together and stomped towards Gary.

"Gary Oak," she hissed, her brown coat flowing behind her.

Gary looked frightened; he casually scratched his back and smiled, "Hi Mrs. Seung!"

Leaf snorted.

"You broke my little girl's heart and I never had a chance to talk to you about what you did!" She chastised, bumping his shoulder with her finger

"Of course," Leaf deadpanned as Gary was receiving a scolding.

He swallowed and remained wordless, only nodding and biting his lip as the woman continued her confrontation. Leaf was amused; she grabbed the milkshake and nonchalantly drank as she watched Gary's expression become more and more fearful as the conversation went on.

She hurried off, grabbing her daughter's sleeve and telling her to stay away from Gary.

"Umm.." Gary began. "Sorry about that,"

"Care to explain?" Leaf responded. She came to regret saying a word just seconds later.

"Ex-girlfriend's mother that's incredibly angry," Gary mumbled. "Shall we go?"

Leaf nodded.

He smiled at her and reached out for her hand, gently causing her to be lifted off her seat.

She figured this was the part when Gary would make a move.

"You know, it's a shame we were never close as children," He told her.

"It's fine," assured Leaf.

"We do get along pretty well," he said as they both walked out.

He wasn't entirely wrong. He got along very well with her false persona.

He just looked at her and began to lean in. Leaf's eyes widened, she stayed still and she could practically feel his breath against her skin.

…Flashback..

"So how's Gary?" Leaf said into the phone.

"Well..we broke up," Misty explained with a sigh. "Caught him kissing someone else, Drew was right,"

"That asshole," Leaf's face grimaced, she began to roughly stir her soup with the loose hand.

"He is. But I don't care anymore," Misty revealed.

"You don't?"

"Sure it was saddening to know the truth but it doesn't matter anyways. We were going to break up eventually even without him cheating," said Misty.

"He was your first boyfriend, wasn't he?" said Leaf.

"He unfortunately gets that title but it wasn't as if we were going to wed. It's rare for first boyfriends and girlfriends to marry, and of course distance would have been a factor," Misty said.

Leaf was amazed; she blew the situation off fairly quickly. The same couldn't be said for other girls.

"I don't get it," Leaf spat, "How did he manage to get you to go out with him?" Misty was far too smart for the likes of Gary Oak.

"He was nice-I didn't see anything wrong with him," said Misty.

`~.~.`~.~.~

* * *

><p>Just as Gary was about the close the gap Leaf pushed him forcefully away.<p>

He nearly tripped; perhaps Leaf was a little too rough.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I shouldn't have leaned in,"

"I've wanted to do that all day," Leaf hissed.

Gary's jaws fell to the ground, "Wha-what?"

"I don't know why I didn't, but dammit I should have the second I saw your face," Leaf explained as she glared.

"What did I do?"

"Drop your bullshitted act, I know about your reputation as a player," Leaf crossed her arms.

"Why were you polite to me then?" Gary demanded to know.

Leaf didn't want him to know about her distant crush she had when they were children. She was half amused, but definitely not surprised, at how his "kind" demeanor began to crackle.

"You're my tutor, I had to force myself to put up with you—which wasn't an easy task," she commented dryly.

"So now you don't believe I'll mention you trying to give me a concussion to your school?" He questioned sarcastically as he dusted off his shirt.

Leaf chuckled emotionlessly, "Do you think I care? Look at my record; I don't,"

Gary stepped closer to her, "Well, you just told me you forced yourself to put up with me, so you must care. Unless that wasn't the real reason," he said in a low voice.

"I can see why Blue's friend Green kicked your ass," Leaf said spitefully.

"He did not," Gary said defensively.

"It's amusing how threatened you are over a girl much shorter and lighter than you," she spat.

"I thought you were sweet," Gary groaned.

"By the way, if you mention the whole pushing thing I will always mention you trying to kiss me. Pretty sure kissing or trying to isn't allowed in tutoring sessions," Leaf winked as she stepped away. She stopped and swiveled her head, "I used to think you were intelligent, looks like we're both disappointed at each other's glorious acting. Well mine was decent at least; I knew you had an underlying purpose the whole damn time,"

"Good luck walking tons of miles back to your home," Gary retorted, smirking.

Leaf cursed herself. She didn't bring any bus money nor did she have a car. It would take hours to return back, which meant she had to go with Gary.

He was leaning against his car smugly. Her eyes twitched, he knew she had to go back with him.

"You know, Leaf, I'm impressed with you," he complimented as she swung open the car door. "This car is new, can't you be delicate?"

"You never were with females' hearts," she pointed her shoulders towards the air and sat in the back.

"Hold on, did we ever make-out or sleep together?" Gary questioned.

"The fact that you can't remember is enough to indicate how many girls you've been with," she muttered.

"That's not my fault," he hissed.

Leaf rolled her eyes, "You can figure out the answer for yourself then, let's see you apply your good grades outside of the classroom," she teased.

"Just get inside," he growled as she smiled smugly. She won that round.

* * *

><p>"Ursula, someone got drunk,"<p>

Ursula whisked around, her dress floating in a circular motion, "Who?" she asked.

"Dawn I think," The boy said.

"Dawn doesn't drink," Iris said as she came in from behind.

"Then explain why she's acting like she's funny," he said sharply.

Iris noticed Ursula seemed unfazed by the revelation. She wasn't angry nor did she appear to care that Dawn was allegedly acting like she was drunk.

"What did you do?" Iris demanded.

"Nothing," snapped Ursula. "I've been nice to her all week! Why do you assume I spiked her drink? She shouldn't have touched alcohol,"

"How did she get it?" Iris said in a matter-of-fact-tone. "I saw her when she came in; she had no bottle of alcohol,"

Ursula shrugged, "Maybe someone gave it to her?"

"Aren't you two friends? Why don't you care?" Iris said, pounding Ursula with questions.

"I don't need to answer to you," she said, blowing off Iris.

Iris formed a fist with her hand and shook it, venting out her frustration. "What did Dawn ever do to deserve your treatment?"

Ursula opened her mouth to speak, but Iris was already gone.

* * *

><p>"Of course fairies are real!" Dawn giggled as she lay on floor, waving her hands around in a butterfly-like motion.<p>

"What an idiot; is anyone recording this?" someone chuckled from the couch.

Iris shoved her way into the crowd that circled around Dawn, "Dammit," she cursed as she noticed how the allegations were true.

"If anyone records this, I will personally kick your ass," threatened Iris as she creased her eyebrow.

"I'm thirsty," Dawn moaned as she began to roll over.

Iris saw a bottle close by; it had a green wrapper with cherry blossoms. She recognized it as a brand of soda, if Iris's suspicions were correct then it belonged to Dawn.

She clutched it and reinstalled the cap before trying to lift Dawn off the floor.

Dawn was back on her feet, shakily standing and nearly falling. Iris hung Dawn's arm around her shoulder, supporting her as she walked. The soda was still in hand as she dragged Dawn to the bathroom.

"How did this happen?" Iris groaned as she allowed Dawn to sit on the closed toilet cover.

She needed to get Dawn out of there in a hurry; if pictures and videos spread of Dawn drunk then there would be consequences.

Iris grabbed her phone, she scrolled through her contacts. She was good friends with Misty and Drew, though Iris knew they were far away and Iris knew she couldn't keep Dawn secluded forever. Iris was also oblivious on handling drunken people. She needed someone located closer, especially with her suspicions that Ursula had something to do with this.

"Paul?" Iris whispered as she came across his name. The area code matched up with Veilstone city, but Iris couldn't be too sure. She kind of knew him, they shared some classes. She knew he helped Dawn out, he must know her. He wasn't the type to do things like that randomly. Iris knew May lived close to them, and Paul and May shared the same house.

Was it worth a try? Iris exhaled and decided to try the number.

* * *

><p>"I can't do this," May whimpered as she failed to complete her level of Candy Crush. "Paul, can you beat this for me?"<p>

"No," he said quickly.

"Ash said he's coming home soon," May revealed happily as she checked her recent text messages.

"What took them so long?" Paul said to himself.

"Ash and Misty finished a long time ago, he just stayed to help her finish her assignments that she missed," May said, rereading her text messages.

Paul's phone began to ring. He took it out of his pocket, his eyes suddenly grew and he didn't move.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" said May.

The ringtone ceased playing, seconds later it started up again. Paul put it down, refusing to answer.

May took note of his quirky behavior; she pondered what horrified him so much that he refused to answer. It seemed extremely important too, considering the person called a third time.

"It's nothing, just business marketing," Paul lied.

May put down her iPod and walked up to Paul, "They wouldn't call three times in a row," she said.

"I'll answer it for you," she suggested, stretching out her arm.

"No!" said Paul, clutching it closer to his body.

"O..kay?" May scratched her head, Paul was definitely acting funny.

"It's nothing important," he repeated, calmer.

She never tried calling him, at least intentionally. What made Dawn want to call him now? He groggily stood up from the couch and opened his phone. Retracting from the living room, where May was, he jogged up the stairs and closed his bedroom door.

There was a voicemail message from Dawn. Curiously, he clicked it.

"Uhh..Paul? It's Iris," Iris's voice boomed from the phone.

Paul raised an eyebrow, confused. Why would Iris call him?

"Dawn is in trouble. You know her, right? Her phone said that she has sent the most text messages to you this past month,"

Paul's first reaction wasn't worry, he instead rolled his eyes. Though he was kind of worried—he just couldn't believe how much trouble she attracts.

"We're at Ursula's house and she's drunk. I think someone spiked her drink…"

She mentioned going to Ursula's party, though everyone warned her that it was a bad idea.

"That idiot," he grumbled.

"Can you pick her up? You live close by us, and you know what can happen if photos and videos of her drunk get spread,"

He knew all about her plans for the future, if she were to be expelled all those dreams would be crushed.

"Paul's hereee," Dawn cooed in the background.

"He's going to hopefully pick you up," Iris commented.

"Howww? Prince Charming gave me this drink and I love him for doing it," Dawn giggled, her voice was shaky.

"You're so drunk," Iris sighed.

Paul knew Prince Charming, unfortunately, referred to himself. She said Paul was there at the party. And Paul Shinji knew he definitely wasn't.

Even though Dawn was drunk, what she said had to have some truth in it. He scratched his head, Dawn wasn't that dumb—she wouldn't just accept drinks from strangers.

"I can't help her," Paul commented out loud.

If he did, without a doubt she'll know. She'll know who he is. He didn't want to meet her as Paul Shinji, he gritted his teeth in frustration. She didn't deserve it; he wanted her to eventually accomplish all her dreams. She wanted to live a better life than she had growing up; she wanted to eventually find her father and go to a good university.

All those could end because of that night.

...

_Reggie twirled the phone around, like a toy almost. "You don't need to hide behind this phone," he began. "Whether you'll tell me or not, I don't need an affirmation that I'm correct,"_

_"I'm not hiding behind anything," Paul growled._

_"Your fear," answered Reggie. "You aren't invisible, brother, no one is. We all have insecurities, and this is one of yours,"_

_"The relationship Dawn and I share is none of your concern. It's fine as it is and that's that," announced Paul dryly._

"Damn you Reggie," he hissed.

If he helped her, she'll find out and he'll have to confront her. He had to pick between Dawn and himself; he wished he had more time to think this through. But he didn't.

* * *

><p>"Where is she?"<p>

Paul heard Ursula's voice from the open window as he attempted to find the bathroom one. Iris said to take her out from there, though she offered no explanation why she couldn't help Dawn herself.

"I swear if she does confront me about this I'm going to scold her for getting drunk. Hell, she can't go through a day without trouble, can she?" Paul deadpanned as he shuffled under the windows.

"I'm a hacker, not a detective," Conway muttered.

"What did you do to get her to drink?" Ursula questioned.

Paul froze, Conway got her to drink? He decided to listen in to collect some more information.

"I prefer to keep my business confidential, let's just say I ran into her one day when she was crying, before I knew about your plans. I overheard a conversation she shared with Misty Waterflower and then I hacked into Paul Shinji's phone,"

Paul clenched his fists; he had a feeling where Conway was going.

"Paul?"

"I pretended to be Paul Shinji," Conway clarified.

"How is that possible? Dawn would know how he looks. Besides, how does Paul fit into the equation?" Ursula asked.

"She didn't know, but that part is confidential. The money I receive for this, isn't, however," he said smugly.

"Here," Ursula grumbled.

Paul heard the sound of a wallet unzipping.

"Maybe I'll tell you what I found out if you explain why you hate such a cute girl," Conway proposed.

"She's not pretty,"

"So it's just jealousy? You girls go to such lengths," he then chuckled.

"If you knew you wouldn't laugh. I have a legitimate reason to do all of this," Ursula said defensively.

"Sure, gorgeous," Conway replied sarcastically.

Paul refrained from jumping into that window and giving those two idiots a big talk and perhaps some physical action for Conway. He couldn't believe that was how Dawn got tricked so easily—because she believed Conway was Paul.

He was extremely offended; they looked and acted nothing alike.

"I need to mention that too," he noted as he scowled.

He saw the shadow of a girl with huge hair—Iris, and apparently Dawn. He breathed out as he knocked on the window.

Sure enough, Iris came forward.

His eyes caught long, midnight blue hair from the side. So that's Dawn, he thought. He pictured her different but far closer than her image of him—which apparently resembled Conway to his utter dismay.

She unclipped the knobs and removed the screen.

"Hold on, what am I supposed to do?" Paul questioned. Iris placed a hand on Dawn's side as the girl guided her on top of a stool. Dawn waved her arms around during the whole process.

"Can you lift her out?" said Iris.

"Excuse me?" Paul protested, raising an eyebrow. He was too late, however. He stood on the tips of his toes and wrapped his arms around Dawn and gently maneuvered her onto his back. She laid her head in the space between his head and shoulders, and Paul's glare intensified.

"I didn't know you guys were very close," Iris commented.

"It's complicated, and nothing of your concern. The only thing that might interest you is that you were correct. Ursula paid Conway and he tricked Dawn into drinking," Paul revealed.

Iris's face dropped; her eyes then suddenly glowered with rage. "Ursula… would. I don't know what she has against Dawn. Here's the drink she last drank, I'm pretty sure it was spiked but here in case you would like to make sure," She handed him the bottle.

"Thank you," said Paul, bowing his head. "How on earth could you befriend such a lowly person? You aren't half bad,"

Iris pressed her fingers together, "I don't know," her voice was mixed with confusion, Paul never gave out compliments to anyone. He was probably appreciative in her helping Dawn out.

"Well, my advice is; get new friends," commented Paul as he took off with Dawn on his back.

She played with his hair, to his annoyance. She was such a nuisance, especially when she was drunk. She began to lightly tug, "Pretty braids~" she said as she began to braid his hair.

"No," Paul muttered dryly, but that couldn't stop Dawn from giving him a French braid. Perhaps Reggie had a point; he needed a haircut. He gently let her off his back and guided her into the backseat of the car.

"It's cold," Dawn complained as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Paul rolled his eyes and grabbed a blanket from the pouch in front. He lazily covered her and went to the drivers' seat, hurriedly taking off.

"Are you kidding me?" Paul grumbled as he noticed he needed gas; the tank was running low.

* * *

><p>"We're running out of gas," informed Gary as he drove.<p>

Leaf pretended he hadn't said a word and continued scowling and crossing her arms in the back seat. Whenever he attempted to strike up a conversation she rolled her eyes and pretended he was a ghost.

His impression about her from earlier had completely vanished. She was nothing like he anticipated. She genuinely disliked him, though he couldn't put his finger on why. It seemed deeper than knowing his reputation; and from his memory he had always treated her kind enough.

He was incredibly used to being fawned over, or like Misty treated him, normal. She, however, started off with immediate distance and disdain. He didn't enjoy that, he yearned to change her image of him and get her to go out with him. Unfortunately, he knew Leaf may not budge easily, if ever.

They pulled up at a gas station; Gary came out and began to load the car with gas.

He kept his eye on Leaf rather than the station; her eyes were moving all over the place. He rolled his eyes; she probably assumed he was going to try something.

He placed his hand on the handle and gently opened it, "I'm not going to do anything to you," he spat.

She pursed her lip, "Why does everything always have to be about you?" she said dryly.

Gary balled his fist, "Well, why do you continue staring at everything? I'm not the type of person you think I am,"

"I'm sure you don't have your own STD," Leaf sarcastically sneered. "Also, please stop staring at me. It's creepy as Hell,"

"I don't have any sexually transmitted diseases thank you very much," Gary deadpanned.

"So will you cease your stalker-esque actions?"

"I'm not a stalker; whoever made up that rumor is lying," Gary snapped.

"No one made up that rumor, yet," Leaf smirked.

"You…"

A car pulled up to the station directly across from theirs. Paul came out, and Gary froze. Leaf noticed and looked behind her back. She saw Paul, but more important, she saw a familiar face in the backseat with a gray blanket covering her body.

Dawn's eyes were closed, though she didn't appear to be sleeping as she lifted her arms up. Leaf squinted; she was clueless as to why Dawn would be with Paul that late at night. There was a party that Leaf knew Dawn attended, but Paul from her knowledge wasn't invited.

Dawn also appeared out of it, giggling for the most part and playing with her hair as she smiled like an idiot.

"Is she drunk?" Leaf asked herself aloud.

She got out of the car and approached Paul.

His eyes danced from Dawn's to Leaf's, "What do you want?" he questioned.

"Why is Dawn drunk in the backseat?" demanded Leaf.

"Ursula."

"Why are you taking her home?" Leaf interrogated.

Paul shrugged, "I was the only one available," his attention turned back to the screen before Leaf tugged his sleeve, forcing him to turn around.

Leaf knew there was something else. He had helped her out weeks ago and not just that, allegedly has been asking about her. He now was picked to take her home, though she was sure plays weren't his cup of tea nor was helping. Dawn barely knows him; the mystery to Leaf was why Paul treated her in a friend-like manner.

Paul gritted his lower set of teeth against his top set, "What do you want?" he hissed as he tried to remove her grasp.

"What are your intentions with Dawn?" she asked.

"Helping her out," answered Paul dryly. "Now will you please let go of me—"

From the corner of his eye he spotted Gary, "You," he said under his breath.

Leaf briefly let go, she wondered what Gary did this time.

"Long time no see," greeted Gary, he glanced at Dawn. "So when did you and Berlitz get close?"

"They aren't," Leaf informed, crossing her arms she glared at Paul. Her eyes were demanding he spilled the truth.

"Why can't I help others without getting threatened?" groaned Paul, rubbing his back as he swiveled.

"Come on Paul, we all know that isn't you," said Leaf.

"Actually I wouldn't trust Leaf. She gets all her information from rumors," Gary said.

Leaf pinched his arm, "I have enough personal experience that rumors are irrelevant. For example, Misty is a friend of mine," she said, rubbing her two sets of teeth against each other bitterly.

"Misty…Waterflower? Delarosa? Monroe?—"

"Waterflower," Leaf said, she didn't feel like hearing all the other last names Gary could remember.

"You… oh.." Gary nervously scratched his head. He should have known; she was friends with an ex-girlfriend of his.

Paul shook his head, "Are you two going to continue arguing and harassing me?"

"I'm not finished; I won't let you go until you tell me the truth," Leaf vowed, she sat on the hood of his car.

"It is none of your concern," said Paul.

"Dawn's my friend, it is my concern," she argued back.

"What else is there to know?" said Paul.

Gary placed a hand on Leaf's shoulder and stepped forward, "Let me handle this," he whispered much to Leaf's annoyance.

"What?" Paul groaned.

"Paul, I dated May," Gary reminded.

"And you cheated on her and practically shattered her, what else is new?" Paul said spitefully.

"Well, I know you rarely show any sort of care, and I don't even know if you are capable of positive emotions," Gary said back. "Why would you suddenly care?"

"I doubt you're the one to speak about that," said Paul, frowning.

"Just tell me what you are so interested in about Dawn," Leaf said in one breath.

"Nothing; I don't care about her at all. This is just a random act of kindness, not everything has a background agenda," Paul was getting sick of their interrogations; he just wanted to drop her off at her home and be done with it.

Gary's eyes suddenly lit up, "So how close are you with Misty and Drew?"

"I don't care about them," claimed Paul.

"Well good luck explaining why Dawn is drunk and how you ended up bringing her home," Gary said wishfully.

"Especially because Ursula didn't invite you, right?" Leaf added. "Misty would know,"

The two were sadly extremely capable of making connections. Paul knew they would prevail.

"Paul, I'm still thirsty," Dawn said crankily, as if on cue.

Paul's face hardened, how could he have forgotten? She assumed Conway equaled Paul, meaning she might babble about "Paul."

"Explain that," Gary said, smirking.

A pause followed.

"Conway pretended to be me," Paul answered. "I wouldn't give someone alcohol without their knowledge, much less attend a party when there is an array of things I could do as an alternative,"

"Why would he pretend to be you?" Leaf asked.

Paul breathed out; he would have to reveal the information eventually. He knew the two wouldn't let him go. Leaf was a friend of Dawn; Gary however was a different story. He could demand that Gary go in the car so he could just tell Leaf. He knew, though, that the auburn-haired college student would want a part in knowing.

"What I tell you remains between us," Paul said strictly, glaring directly at Gary. "I know Dawn, she knows of me as well. But we know each other in a different way,"

"What kind of way?" Leaf paid especially more attention.

"It's really because of Gary," Paul announced, pointing at him.

"Me?"

"Dawn lost her phone one day in June, Ash was in Twinleaf during that time and picked it up," Paul began.

"That was around the time Misty and you broke up," Leaf said.

"Misty texted the phone when Ash had it, he answered back and thus began a friendship that existed only through text. I caught him one day and somehow Dawn and I began exchanging messages. We had no idea we attended the same school," Paul finished.

"Wait, so you all have different identities?" Leaf questioned, the idea began wrapping around her head.

"Misty and Ash do, Dawn and I do, May has no idea on anything, and Drew… I need to do some investigating on that one," said Paul straightforwardly.

"And you figured it out eventually?" asked Leaf.

"Yes. Dawn got close but I lied. I doubt Ash and Misty are very close, May is oblivious, Drew probably doesn't care," said Paul.

"Ash and Misty?" Gary said, more so a statement than a question.

"They met again this year, though they have no idea about the others' identity," Paul said roughly.

"I can't believe this," Gary said shakily.

"I don't know what else to say," said Leaf.

"Am I like that cursed guy in that movie? Where all the females of his failed relationships find their true love after breaking up with the guy? I feel like I am," said Gary, grabbing his head.

"No, because you are the one usually ending the relationship or giving them reasons to," Leaf retorted, her eyes rolling. "Maybe the world has other inhabitants and they get into nice relationships after you because you teach them to look at other aspects in men,"

"You know Gary, I have yet to talk about you over what you did to May," Paul said in a menacing tone. He stepped closer, his face seeming more and more serious.

"Why would you care?" asked Gary.

"I don't," Paul affirmed, "But that doesn't diminish what you did to her,"

Leaf was amazed at what she was seeing. Paul wasn't that bad, actually, he had higher moral standards than a certain someone at the least.

"Then why are you talking to me about this?" Gary groaned.

"I don't care about May; but I do have a sense of justice. You don't know how much sleep I got when she was up crying, I honestly blame you for my bad mood months ago," Paul said in a low, angered tone.

"Am I supposed to feel bad for a rich kid?" Gary chuckled; it was as if Paul's words flew out of his other ear.

"If you mean me—I couldn't care any less if I tried. If you are referring to May, then keep it to yourself because I'm not in the mood to punch someone right now," he hissed.

"What made you even bring this up?" said Gary, unfazed by Paul's threats.

"It seems as if you may be around more often, frankly it needs to be said," Paul said. "In addition you dated May and Misty at the same time, correct?"

"You did what?" Leaf said, nearly choking on her own saliva.

"I didn't know they'd meet," explained Gary.

"You helped stimulate that," said Paul. "Which is why you better not say a single word about this, to anyone,"

"And if I do?" Gary egged on.

"Then I'd make sure I switch tutors," Leaf interrupted.

Gary turned to face her, leaning close to her ear, "I can switch students as well," she felt his breath against her skin.

"Oh, but you won't," Leaf said under her breath.

"And why wouldn't I?" Gary said, leaning in closer.

"And go back to your little cheerleaders, you don't want that, do you?" she snarled as her lips curved into a mischievous smile.

"You just gave me a talk about making everything about me," Gary reminded as he distanced from her.

"Because you do tend to do that; I can read you pretty easily. Just like a children's book, " said Leaf, crossing her arms.

Paul's eyes swished from Leaf to Gary, Gary to Leaf, to Dawn who was still drunk. He rolled his eyes; public display of affection was far too uncomfortable for him to see. He coughed, breaking up the tension between the two in front of him. "So, since Dawn thought Conway was me and therefore got her drunk, I assume she shouldn't go home, correct?"

"She can stay at my house," said Leaf.

"It's kind of dangerous for two girls to stay alone together," Gary wrapped his arm around Leaf's waist.

"It's far more frightening staying with you," Leaf spat back, elbowing his stomach.

"Ow," he gasped in pain.

Paul felt a vein throb, "Can you two please refrain from what you're doing in front of me? It's sickening,"

"W-What are you trying to say?" Gary asked.

Paul didn't answer.

* * *

><p>It was between Paul and Gary to carry Dawn out. Leaf voiced her favor for Paul, obviously, and though he was hesitant over the idea and disliked it; Gary was like asking Satan to safely guide her.<p>

"Put her down on the couch," Leaf said, pointing at the sofa.

Dawn smiled as she felt the softness of the fabric. Leaf jogged to her storage closet and wrapped around Dawn a polka-dotted patterned blanket.

"Did you tell Misty and Drew?" asked Gary.

Leaf ignored him and hummed as she adjusted the blanket.

"Did you inform them about this?" Paul asked.

"Yeah," Leaf answered.

"So, Paul…" Gary looked over at Dawn's sleeping figure. At least he assumed she was sleeping.

"Are you going to tell her?" Leaf finished for him.

"I thought I would have to, but I see there's no need for any explanation," Paul said as he began to leave.

Leaf grabbed his arm and tugged him back, "No need?"

"Tell her you helped her out," said Paul, while preparing to move Leaf pulled his arm tighter.

"Why won't you tell her?!" she said in disbelief.

"Because Paul doesn't care about anyone else but himself: He isn't capable of proper human emotions other than anger or grouchiness, Leaf," joked Gary.

"That's bull," expressed Leaf. "I think he's capable enough, I saw it with my own eyes today,"

"No matter what manipulation you two can couple together, I will honestly tell you now there is nothing about this that is important," Paul breathed a sigh of disappointment.

"Dawn believed Conway, thinking he was you. She is often on her phone and I assume it's getting to know you. As her friend, I'll tell you she doesn't care where you come from or who you are," said Leaf as she let go of his arm.

Paul's ears perked up; she had his attention and Leaf was damn sure of it.

"I don't know what you're trying to imply," Paul grumbled.

"If she knew, she would tell you. She deserves to know," Leaf said, trying her best to convey him to tell her.

Paul shook his head, "She can figure it out,"

"She was on her way there, until you threw her off the track," Leaf argued.

"And how do you know that?" Paul questioned.

"You mentioned it," Leaf reminded. "I won't let her know, that is your right to. I just think its best you did. I have no idea about your relationship with her at all. But she can certainly be someone you don't want out of your life. Even if you find talking to her to be mindless entertainment for yourself, just let her know at least. Give her a voice in this situation," said Leaf gently.

"She'll then tell Misty and everyone will know about the others' identity," predicted Paul.

"Is there a problem with that?" asked Leaf.

Paul pointed at Gary, "Yes,"

Gary voicelessly mouthed his own name, pointing at himself as well.

"Oh, right," Leaf rolled her eyes as she remembered. "Misty would.."

"She knows, she just doesn't know it's May," explained Paul.

"May would.." Leaf scratched her head; she didn't know how May could react.

"There's also the scenario Ash created," Paul said, lifting both eyebrows.

"What did he do?" Leaf and Gary said in union.

"Let's just say he talks about things with Misty," Paul explained briefly.

"So I guess telling Dawn means all of that is revealed? Maybe it's not the time, yet," Gary placed a thumb on his chin, tapping the floor he thought about it.

"Maybe Dawn will, maybe Dawn won't. This isn't about Ash, Misty, May, Drew, etc. It's about Dawn, and to a degree you," said Leaf.

When Paul left, she told him once again to consider it.

* * *

><p>School was extremely busy, omg. This also goes to Malory79080~feel better!<p> 


	18. Will the Princess meet Prince Charming?

Some people have finals before Christmas/winter break..I am blessed to have it after (actually I prefer before ;c). I'll be busy working on stuff for it so I won't have time for writing. Happy new year everyone~! My New Year resolution is to write more. I've already done pretty well I suppose. December alone I published a couple one shots for Pokemon and even non-pokemon stories. Without further ado, here is chapter 18.

-x-

Dawn rubbed her eyes as she sat upright. She pressed her hand against her slightly throbbing temples. Last night was nothing but a blur.

"Where am I?" She said out loud as her vision danced from corner to corner. She recalled being at Ursula's house previously for the party; yet here she was wrapped in a pink blanket in someone else's living room. She stood and began to nearly fold the blanket; at the same time trying to see if there was any name embroidered. She noticed the shelves built into the wall and examined their contents as she tried to contemplate about where she could be and what events caused her to wake up in a stranger's home.

There were no pictures, and the occasional novel was present -mostly horror- as if placed there to add to her fear. She glided her finger against the window sill. As she expected; the place was dusty as well as old looking. She had enough recollection of Ursula's home to know it didn't belong to the pink haired girl. She touched the fading wallpaper, feeling lumps of plaster underneath. The window blinds were closed for the most part with some sunshine rays squeezing in from the minuscule gaps.

"What happened?" Dawn gasped as she tried to look for her phone. Her pockets were empty and though her eyes scanned every area of the room, it didn't appear to be close by.

She didn't see a device that could call the police lying anywhere near her. She exhaled as she dashed to the front door, ready to run out before her "abductor" came in. Her hands laced the lock, vibrating it as she tried to bust open the door. She clenched her teeth, it wasn't working. Dawn leaned in, trying to get a better look, but to no avail.

The distant sounds of footsteps filled the background as Dawn desperately rattled the lock. She felt her hands grow sweaty as she tried to escape. Her thoughts wandered over to the window. She clawed apart the blinds as she examined the outside. It was a two story building; if she jumped she still had a good chance of survival. It was better than staying idle and allowing whoever the attack was to get her. She fingered the locks, finding it far simpler to understand as she successfully twisted the knob and only needed to remove the screen. Just as she held the screen up, having dismantled it from the window, the front door abruptly flew open.

Dawn panicked, holding the screen up as a mode of defense.

Leaf dropped the brown bag she was previously carrying as her jaws fell to the floor. "What the Hell are you doing?" she questioned as she furiously stomped towards Dawn's direction.

Dawn felt her cheeks heat up; she was in Leaf's house. She nervously swiped her forehead as she tried to reattach the screen.

Furrowing her eyebrow, Leaf pulled Dawn back and turned her by the shoulders so both their eyes met, "Explain," she deadpanned as she crossed her arms.

"Uhh...what am I doing here?" Dawn asked, dodging the question. She preferred not to explain her wild imagination and what she intended to do as a result.

"You answer first," Leaf demanded.

Dawn pursed her lips, "Um, I think I deserve an explanation first. I did wake up in your apartment after all."

Leaf sighed, "I see you don't remember."

Dawn shrugged as she handed Leaf her screen back, "My memory is foggy."

Leaf snatched it out of her hands and quickly reattached it, "I promise you'll get an explanation. But first, tell me why you took out my window screen. Were you planning on jumping? Is there something you need to tell me?" She raised an eyebrow as Dawn's embarrassment deepened

"Well uh...I was," Dawn blushed as she rolled back her shoulders, "What else was I supposed to assume?" she finally said as she bit her lip back. "I wake up somewhere I've never been and can barely remember a thing."

Leaf wrinkled her nose, dipping her head as it swayed, "Well," she began, looking up; "Jumping out of the window would have been a horrible option. You could've just broken down the front door, kicked it open—something among those lines," she begged to disagree.

Dawn glanced towards the door, "You're probably right," she said as her eyes traced the patterns of a wooden chair.

Leaf placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm glad you didn't think of that, though. I'm also extremely glad I got home in time before you jumped out the window," she teased as she retreated to her room. When she came back she held two bottles of what Dawn recognized as conditioner and shampoo, along with a pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt.

Dawn pointed at herself as she hesitantly received the items, "Me?" she asked.

"Yes," Leaf clarified, "Shower's across from my room. Afterwards, come out and we'll eat—oh right, I dropped it," she said as she picked the bag off the floor.

"You'll tell me what happened, right?" Dawn asked as she peaked out from the bathroom.

Leaf nodded, motioning her to hurry and shower, "Try and remember what you can, the shower provides time for deep thought."

-x-

Dawn breathed a sigh of relief as she leaned against the cream white door. Still holding the bundles of lent belongings, she turned on the lights before she flipped the handle for the shower; deliberately making it hotter than usual. She placed the shampoo and conditioner close by before hanging up her lent garments. Leaf told her to check the mirror cabinet for a hand towel; her hand ran through, searching, until finally she felt soft fabric beneath her fingertips. She picked up a strand of her own hair, evidently tangled.

"What happened last night?" she asked herself softly as she took off her necklace, placing it inside a small, box-like container that rested on the marble.

She was there for Ursula, she recalled entering her room and losing her ring—which she also placed inside the small box for safe keeping. She was planning on leaving early, Iris was there and was like usual, kind— something happened that kept her at the party longer.

As she took off the rest of her clothes and stepped inside the shower, she tried to recall what she was missing. Her hair was a mess as a result of what may have occurred. She examined her body, checking for any cuts or bruises and came up with no results.

"So I didn't get into a fight…not that I would but who knows what happened," she mumbled to herself as she placed a good amount of shampoo on her palm. She ran it through her hair as she tried to remember what followed after leaving Ursula's room. She knew Ursula saw her enter; and soon later she retreated down the stairs.

As she was rinsing off the remaining shampoo, she sniffed as something floated into her mind. She reopened the tube of shampoo and smelled it. Her eyes widened as she realized the shampoo's scent matched the, or was at least identical to, the scent of the candles in Ursula's house.

The smell of lavender was present all throughout the home, including Ursula's room. There was an especially strong scent on a table surrounded by couches. She let out a sigh, she could recall scents but she couldn't remember what happened that led her to end up in Leaf's home.

She recalled smelling it as she waited for Ursula to appear, it wasn't at all a hindrance, and in fact she liked the scent. She tried to concentrate as the hot water soothed her. As she waited, she recalled someone appearing to her.

She couldn't make out the face no matter how much effort she exerted. A sigh escaped her mouth as she fumbled the conditioner. She quickly picked it up, hoping Leaf didn't assume she fell because of the sound of its drop. Her eyes jumped to the wrapper, the image of a girl with shoulder-length black hair was plastered. As she applied it, her memory began to unscramble.

It wasn't a girl, but rather a boy with black hair. She placed her thumb on her chin as she began to think. Portraits of various individuals popped in her mind, but not the one she met yesterday.

-x-

Leaf smoothed out the table cloth before carefully setting the plates over decorative plate mates. She grinned as she added a set of silverware by three plates—one for each of the people attending. Her eyes wandered to the clock hung high-up behind the table. It was getting late, if he didn't come within the next ten minutes she would be convinced he backed out. Leaf had no right to tell Dawn, at least in her opinion. For one, she had a small sketch of the entire picture. She barely knew Paul and her opinion of him was nothing short of negative. After yesterday, she began to view him in a better light. If he didn't show up, she would understand—he was the epitome of the term antisocial. If he did, her opinion would grow fonder still.

She let out a deep breath as she swiped her hand over her forehead. The doorbell then rung, causing her lips to curl up with satisfaction—believing he took her advice into consideration. She jogged over and unlocked it in a somewhat hurried manner as her smile grew wider.

Her expression dropped as the door revealed another face. Without showing any emotion, she began to close it however; the man on the other side pressed his hand against it and ceased her efforts. He smirked as he walked in; bringing his wrist up as he checked the time.

"What are you doing here?" Leaf hissed.

Gary's smirk deepened. "I came to check on Dawn, she was out of it yesterday."

She rolled her eyes. He was unexpected as well as unwelcome.

He began to stroll into her kitchen, raising his eyebrow as he noticed the three plates set out. "Well, I didn't expect Paul to come either."

Leaf chuckled dryly, "The grass outside is pretty damn long. Do all the tenants a favor and snack on that instead." She further smirked as she saw him ball his fist.

"The grass is filthy, do you want me to catch a disease?" he deadpanned.

"Can't be worse than whatever else you have," Leaf muttered just before the doorbell rang once more.

As she swiveled, ready to answer the door to welcome in the expected visitor—she saw Gary peak through at what she bought, glaring as he realized there were only three cartons available.

He was her tutor, and while she detested him, she knew she could get a good laugh from his reactions. She needed some lightning up, and constantly putting down Gary Oak was a perfect remedy.

"Good morning," Leaf greeted as she opened the door.

Paul nodded as he entered. He gazed at the couch where Dawn spent the night before looking back at Leaf, silently asking where she was.

"Taking a shower," Leaf answered as she motioned him to follow her.

"Well, look who decided to show up," Gary said with a mouth stuffed with food. He swung the omelet with the tips of his fingers as Leaf grimaced.

"That wasn't for you," she snarled as he fitted the entire thing into his mouth at once.

He shrugged as if he did nothing. His entire mouth was full, which caused his cheeks to expand as a result.

"Well, winter is coming," Leaf began as she crossed her arms, her anger beginning to fade, "I suppose it's natural you store up before your hibernation."

Paul shook his head, "Pigs don't hibernate," he sneered as he sharply pivoted away from Gary.

Gary pursued his lip as he angrily continued chewing.

Leaf smirked. Who knew Paul had a small sense of humor?

-x-

As she showered, Dawn wondered if the bar of soap would provide any details, to her dismay it didn't. She changed into the clothes Leaf provided before wrapping a towel around her hair. She chuckled at her reflection as she turned to the side she remembered watching Cinderella as a child. Her hair to the ball was somewhat like how Dawn's hair looked now, except actual hair in place of a towel. Her train of thoughts took off and her thoughts transported from the princess Cinderella to Cinderella Man, and Cinderella Man had a friend Dawn thought she had unmasked.

Prince Charming…the boy she met had the same hair color, length, and style as the boy she met last night. Her hand grasped the knob before she immediately let it go.

She remembered. He admitted to her who he was, and that was as far as Dawn knew she could uncover. A grim smile plastered across her face as she tilted her head down, trying to make sense of who Prince Charming really was and what his true intentions were.

-x-

The sound of the door opening brought Paul's attention towards the hallway. Gary and Leaf entered a useless verbal argument over everything—and due to that Paul spaced out. He saw Leaf's grin widen as Dawn walked out, a towel draped across her shoulders as she combed through her wet hair.

Her eyes widened as she came to an abrupt stop upon seeing two certain guests—Gary and Paul. She spread out the towel over the front of her body as she furrowed her brow in confusion. "What are you doing here?" she demanded as she glared at Gary.

"Long time no see," Gary greeted with a small wave of his hand.

Dawn's eyes lingered over to Paul. He was sitting up-right on Leaf's couch with his hands folded.

"And you are?" she questioned.

His throat ran dry; he couldn't figure out the correct words to say. After last night he stayed up trying to figure out whether or not Leaf made a valid point. He contemplated calling Reggie, though he knew that would do no good as Reggie sided with Leaf without even knowing her. After deep thought, he decided to show up.

"Friend of Ash and May's," he began, deciding to start with a causal connection.

Dawn swung her comb mobilizing only her finger as she asked, "Name?"

Paul rolled his eyes. "My name is Paul," he answered in a rude tone.

Her eyes beamed. "You helped me that one time!" she said as her lips curled into a grateful smile.

Paul nodded as she stuck out her hand and began slightly waving it around while she waited for him to shake it. He huffed as he shook her hand lightly, causing Dawn to promptly frown at his unpleasant demeanor.

"Guess someone isn't a morning person," she commented as she crossed her arms. Her eyes darted back to Gary; she never did confront him over what he did to Misty. He smirked as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Leaf," Dawn started as she pointed at both boys, "Why are Paul and It here?" she asked—refusing to refer to Gary by his name or even the male pronoun.

Gary winked before Leaf shoved him back as she stepped closer. "It involves what happened last night. Dawn, what can you remember?" Leaf asked as she pinched Gary's arm, causing him to flinch slightly.

Dawn took a seat right across from Paul and gestured Leaf to join her. As both girls sat down, Dawn looked at Paul once more with a sense of curiosity in her gaze. Her head slightly tilted to the side; he didn't make any response.

"I went to Ursula's room," Dawn began as flashes of that timeframe played through. "I was going to go home, but then this guy came up to me," she narrated as she folded her hands.

Leaf squinted, taking note of Dawn's grim expression. She knew the answer, though considering how Dawn was during her drunken period; Leaf didn't expect Dawn to possibly know what happened.

Gary strolled and took a seat next to Paul (to the latter's evident dismay) as Dawn continued on.

"So…there's this guy I know named Paul," Dawn said, her gaze towards the floor, "Not that Paul," she clarified before swallowing a lump in her throat.

"And he got you drunk?" Gary asked as his patience was winding down.

Dawn pursed her lip, rolling her eyes at his interruption. "Listen," she hissed, "I don't know why you are here," she turned to Leaf for a brief moment, raising both eyebrows as she wordlessly questioned what Gary's role was, "I…this doesn't concern you. I'd actually appreciate it if you left."

Leaf raised a hand, "I second that," she deadpanned as she stood, sharply pointing towards the exit.

Gary shrugged, "I helped yesterday and this is my reward?"

Leaf stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder as she sat on the arm of the couch. "What will it take for you to leave?" she questioned, trying to control her anger. Even breathing the same oxygen as him was unbearable.

"A kiss," he answered swiftly.

Leaf looked at Dawn's astonished grin. The bluenette blinked, needing a double take at whatever was unraveling.

"Fine," Leaf answered as she placed a hand under his chin and tilted it upward. With the other hand she grabbed the roll of duct tape lying on the side table. She hid it as he closed his eyes, expecting a kiss. She ferociously ripped a long piece out and tapped his mouth, pressing it to ensure it stuck as much as possible.

His eyes fluttered open as he began mumbling curses. Dawn cringed as she heard the sound of tape ripping. Leaf didn't place it on gently; it stuck to skin and ripped out some hair above his lip.

"You wanted a kiss. Duct tape was the only one here willing," Leaf snarled as she stomped back to her seat.

Paul let out a loud cough. It's been thirty minutes and he was irritated with Leaf and Gary's bickering. He didn't contemplate coming for either of them, he wasn't present because of them, and he was here for one purpose and one person only.

He clenched his fist; his mind gave the words an almost desperate-sounding tone. As both Leaf and Gary escaped into another irrelevant argument; Paul glanced over at Dawn, who never quite finished retelling her story. He stood up and walked in between the two before a murder could be committed.

"Listen, you two can deal with your immaturity another time. Someone here needs an explanation of what happened last night," he said, eyeing Dawn from the corner of his eye.

Both ceased their arguing and took a seat on opposite sides as the spotlight fell to Dawn.

-x-

For someone that seemed incredibly upset to breathe the same air as her—Dawn found herself appreciating him. He helped her once again. Still, Dawn wasn't sure why he would bother caring. She was still curious on their apparent involvement; especially Gary's considering he's supposed to be in college.

She took a deep breath as she contemplated how to word the entire situation. Gary was her best friend's ex-boyfriend, for Misty's sake "Cinderella Man" wouldn't be mentioned one bit. She'd exclude him and focus on "Prince Charming."

"This summer, I lost my phone. A boy picked it up, and his friend and I somehow became friends," Dawn explained, taking a short breath as she tried to figure out how the explain the rest. Paul wasn't paying any attention and instead was fixated on the window. He was probably waiting for her to finish before he'd explain what his role was in last night's frenzy.

"And?" Leaf asked.

"You'd befriend a stranger but find my presence appalling? At least you know I'm not a creep," Gary hissed as he crunched down on the couch. Dawn saw him eye Paul before swinging his attention back to her.

"We became friends," Dawn said, pretending Gary didn't exist, "He acted like a stuck-up jerk at first. He honestly is even as we became closer. He's…I'd say cold, but he's difficult to describe. I could tell him anything and he would be brutally honest, but talking to him was always pretty interesting too," Dawn continued, stopping for a moment to see if everyone else was following along.

"So, how does this pedophile relate to that boy you met in the party?" Gary questioned.

"He isn't a pedophile," Dawn defended, "He was the boy I met at the party. I've wanted to meet him for a long time, and I did one day when I went off crying…but that isn't important," she said as she recalled the day Ash told her about a petty rumor that may just go around. It ended up becoming a bluff and the entire situation was forgotten about.

"And does Misty know about your online friend?" Gary questioned as he raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up," Leaf demanded.

Gary sunk lower into the couch as he began mouthing unpleasant words.

"She does. But she doesn't know what his intentions were," Dawn said as she averted her gaze to the floor. "I trusted him…and he got me drunk?" she said, asking the question to herself.

"Dawn…" Leaf trailed off, she didn't think Dawn would truly believe Conway was the actual friend of hers.

She frowned; balling a fist as she continued on. She wasn't going to cry, not in front of any of them. "He gave me a drink, that's the last thing I remember. He was acting weird the entire time, and I know why," she said as her voices slightly crackled. "He was with Ursula. It was him, I'm pretty sure. He showed me proof; the first time we met I had this feeling in my heart. And Ursula—all of you were right. I did some thinking and I think she planned it," Dawn said as a sigh exited her mouth. She shook her head, chuckling at her naïve-self. "Our friendship was a lie; he was waiting for that moment for when he finally would get me to embarrass myself. I can't believe I trusted him. All of what he told me was a probably a lie as well. I should've seen this coming, there were signs early on I probably just ignored," she announced as she kept her gaze away from anyone else's eyes. She bit her lip, awaiting their responses.

"Dawn…" Leaf began gently. She was gawking as her eyes were filled with shock. Even Gary was somehow perplexed at what she said. Dawn cocked her head to the side; what was wrong with what she admitted?

The sound of the door squeaking open startled Dawn as she turned to see Paul begin to leave. "Wait," she called out, standing up. He turned to her, glaring as he impatiently waited for her to answer.

"What?"

"What was your role in this entire mess?" Dawn questioned.

"Paul, where are you going?" Leaf asked.

"I was around the neighborhood and helped you out. Leaf and Gary were at the gas station and we decided to bring you here, that's all, nothing else happened," Paul groaned as he walked off. "Wasted my time," he added, muttering it under his breath.

Leaf stood up and began chasing after him. "Come back!" she called out as she ran out the hallway.

Gary went after them both, noticing Dawn's confused expression he stopped. "Wait for a moment," he said, holding out a hand to emphasis his point. He closed the door as he ran out, leaving Dawn even more confused.

She sat back down, twirling her strands of hair as she tried to decipher what the commotion was.

"Maybe I should follow them," Dawn mused out loud.

-x-

Dawn crept down the stairs. Her senses were tingling with confusion. First, she pondered what even happened to her last night-a question she had yet to receive an answer to. Secondly, Paul...whatever his last name was, was acting rude. She knew from what she heard and from a brief phone call that he got grouchy easily. She figured he had some soft spot, though; he already helped her on two occasions. A sigh escaped from her throat as she wondered what his problem was. She obviously wasn't in on whatever Leaf, Paul, and-of all people-Gary Oak-were scheming. She was positive they conspired together. She couldn't keep her mind off Gary's suggestion for her to stay put while he and Leaf chase down the ever so pleasant "savior" of hers.

"I figure out one Paul and now here's a new one," Dawn expressed as she spotted the trio outside, talking to Paul. Leaf had her arms spread out on in front of her as she tried to point him towards the entrance. He shook his head and pivoted away until Gary physically grabbed him back.

Dawn raised an eyebrow at the scene. What was Paul hiding that Leaf and Gary wanted him to say or do so badly? She opened a window and went down on her knees as she tried to listen to what they were saying. Her head bobbed up, making her slightly visible. To her dismay, the closer she was to the window meant the best hearing quality. She didn't want to risk mishearing a word, especially knowing she was somehow involved.

"I thought you were going to tell her," Leaf chimed in.

"I just wanted to see if she lived. She did, that's all," Paul claimed.

Gary nodded. "Speaking of which; how did you manage to keep her alive, Leaf? Dealing with someone drunk isn't fun."

Leaf scowled. "I've had experience dealing with drunken people, okay? So please, stop redirecting this conversation towards me, Oak. This is about Paul telling Dawn that she is off with her guess."

Dawn gasped loudly. The boy she met…wasn't him? That meant that Paul slash Prince Charming was someone else—someone who was honest with her.

She perked her head, trying to get a better angle. Her gaze fell onto Paul when it began to hit her.

"I'm fine with whatever our acquaintanceship is," Paul said roughly as he walked off.

Leaf shifted, trying to chase after him when Gary pulled her back. She slapped his hand away as a frown crept upon her face.

"Leave him alone, Leaf. He isn't capable of human emotions. He's like that Tin Man from that movie I can't remember. No heart, none," Gary chuckled.

"That's not true," Leaf said, shaking her head. "Everyone has a heart. Not just the organ that pumps blood, but the symbolic meaning of a heart. If he had no heart,why did he bother showing up to help Dawn? Why did he even bother becoming a part of her life?" she questioned out loud.

Dawn's jaws fell to the floor. Her eyes widening as she realized what Paul's problem was. The same name and similar attitude wasn't a coincidence. It was him. She couldn't believe how slow she was to realize it.

She was standing up; her hands pressed against the wooden sill as she leaned closer.

Paul walked back, his eyes still stern looking as he stood in front of Gary. "Don't lecture about hearts. It makes you look like a hypocrite," he stated, looking back at the building behind them. Dawn ducked immediately and fell.

She crawled away from the window and stood back up just as the sound of the door sliding open filled the desolate area.

"What are you doing?" Paul questioned as he crossed his arms.

Dawn's head swung from side to side as she pondered on what to say. There were so many thoughts running through her mind. Yet not even one word was able to escape her mouth.

"I thought I told you to stay upstairs," Gary said as he jogged inside.

Leaf rolled her eyes. "You really think she'd listen?"

"I'll be leaving now," Paul said as he tried to walk off for approximately fifth time that morning.

"No!" Dawn yelled as she grabbed his hand. Her cheeks heated up. She couldn't comprehend what to do in the situation. This wasn't how she imagined meeting up, and her imaginations were never this confusing.

"What?" he spat.

"You know it's me, Prince Charming," Dawn said, saying his nickname in a sarcastic tone.—just like how Drew first muttered it.

He lifted an eyebrow. "What the Hell are you talking about?"

"I heard the conversation," Dawn revealed as she looked at the three surrounding her. "I know it's you, Paul," she said softly.

He breathed out an exhausted sigh, "Guess there isn't anything I can do. You're correct. Happy? I'll be leaving now." He gently detached himself from her grip.

"No; you aren't going anywhere," Dawn practically ordered. To her surprise, he impatiently ceased his attempt to leave—temporarily at least.

"She knows…" Leaf said under her breath as her lips curved into a smile.

Dawn and Paul stood, neither able to say a word. There was something different in this conversation. Dawn had proof it was him and it was the first time the two met face to face.

"I…thank you, first of all," Dawn said appreciatively.

"It was nothing," Paul said monotonously.

"It was. Who knows what could've happened if you didn't help me," Dawn began as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "We'll talk more about what happened last night after I finish."

"Finish what?" Paul questioned.

"The fake Paul yesterday somehow had your phone. He had your phone number and our last conversation word for word—that's a big reason why I was convinced," Dawn informed.

Paul shook his head, "Not my phone, he showed your pictures that he somehow got and you mistook them as the actual screen."

Dawn rubbed her head as she nervously let out a small chuckle. "I…ohh…" she trailed off.

Leaf brought a hand up to her face, sighing.

A pause fell once more—until Leaf decided to take the matter into his own hands.

"Aren't you two friends? I've heard you both stay up all night talking and suddenly in person it's difficult?" she questioned, looking at both Dawn and Paul.

"Wait, how do you two know about this?" Dawn asked.

"Well you were drunk and he had you in the backseat when he went to get gas. Leaf got suspicious and kinda threatened him," Gary said nonchalantly.

"I did not threaten him," Leaf retorted.

"I don't let anyone threaten me," Paul said, agreeing with Leaf.

"Paul's feeling down; that's why he isn't bothering to say a word," said Dawn, her voice gentling.

"I'm not sad," Paul said in a straightforward voice.

"You are. I would be too if I were you," Dawn said as she looked at her feet. The words were beginning to come to her. "I'm sorry I thought whoever that guy—"

"Conway," Paul interrupted.

"That Conway was you," Dawn apologized. "What I said about our friendship…ignore it. I should have known better that you wouldn't do that. I was convinced he was you. Maybe I clung on to my first suspicion because I really wanted to know who you are," Dawn said with a small shrug. He was stunned, evident in his enlarged eyes.

Paul looked over his shoulder, "I need to go…"

"No matter how grouchy you can be, Bipolar, harsh, blunt, sarcastic, infuriating, insulting…" Dawn paused as she tried to think of more adjectives. In the meantime, Paul was slightly fuming at all the words she was conjuring to describe him. "I still wanted to meet you! You're my friend, we met in an abnormal way and even if I couldn't see you, you were still important to me. I was always happy receiving any of your messages. They made my day and hopefully mine made yours too. I told you a lot of things and you responded with an honest answer. When I saw the possibility that you were probably close by, I got excited. Maybe to the point where I lost some common sense," she vented.

"Some?" Paul snarled, "I think the screenshot incident counts for more than some."

Dawn lightly clenched her teeth together. "More than some," she corrected. "Paul, I want to know you too. Not just the mysterious boy on phone, but the real one that is in front of me right now," she said, pointing at him. "You don't need to be some secret part of my life. I want you to be part of it. Like Misty, Drew, and Leaf are. I care about you; that's why I don't want you to distance yourself from me knowing I know who you are. I don't care whatever reputation or life style you have out of the phone. I know what's in your heart, and I'd like to be a part of your life too. That is if you want," she said, gasping for breath as she finished her speech.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Fine, someone needs to make sure you stop getting in trouble and I assume that's my role," he said.

Dawn grinned. A single tear escaped from her eye. The sunlight caused it to sparkle, making it fairly noticeable against her fair skin.

"Why are you tearing up?" Paul questioned as he saw the droplet roll off her chin.

"I'm happy," said Dawn as her smile deepened.

"This isn't something worth crying for," said Paul.

"I'm not crying, though. It was one tear," Dawn retorted.

"Speaking of which; you didn't hurt my feelings so erase that thought from your head. I couldn't care less about what you were assuming," Paul claimed as he crossed his arms.

Dawn creased her eyebrow. "What I said was hurtful. It's just like you to stay it wasn't anything," Dawn said, followed by a small wink.

"That's the truth. I didn't give a damn."

"Umm…I beg to differ," said Dawn.

Paul quickly changed the subject, "First off…how the Hell did you assume that Conway and I had the same personality? Secondly, how do you manage to get into trouble all the time? Third, Conway and I are nothing alike," he sneered, emphasizing a certain point two times.

"In my defense, he kind of imitated you! He probably did do everything purposely," Dawn said defensively. "And I don't know about the trouble part. It's not all the time, either."

Paul let out an exasperated snort. "You need to reevaluate your entire life, Troublesome."

Dawn pursed her lip. "I have questions too! First, is Ash Cinderella Man? Secondly, is your hair actually purple? Third, what is Gary's purpose being here?!"

"Making sure you're okay, Sweetie," Gary said flirtatiously.

"Yes, Ash is Cinderella Man. My hair is naturally purple, is there a problem? Gary was part of the situation last night for some reason and he decided to show up because he is an asshole," Paul answered, glaring at Gary.

"That means Ash is….wait!" Dawn's eyes beamed. "He tells Misty all about his love problems! There's this one girl that he used to hate but not anymore and he is kinda attracted to her…"

Paul paused, thinking about her question. "Well, I don't keep up with his hormonal teenage life—I have better things to do—but I wouldn't completely doubt it. You should know he hasn't broken up with Angie, yet," Paul informed.

"BREAK UP? ANGIE?" Gary shrieked. "What the Hell? How? Ash?!"

"Cinderella Man apparently broke up with his…so he lied," Dawn concluded. "Does he know too? Because I think I have a theory how their relationship has improved."

"Ash isn't even close, trust me. Though there is some truth in that. He's asking Misty for advice about Misty," Paul said. "Honestly, Ash doesn't feel that way towards Angie. You do know the situation, right?"

Dawn nodded. "But…what about Misty?"

"I cannot answer that. He does find her attractive, if that amounts for anything," Paul said with a small shrug.

"Ashy-boy got a girlfriend. How?" Gary questioned.

"Wow…" Dawn said, stepping back, "Misty owes Drew twenty dollars," she joked. The name of Drew triggered another name. She turned to Gary, "You…"

"Me?" he asked, taken back by her cold reaction.

"That means you dated May and Misty at the same time," Dawn muttered as she crossed her arms. "I still never talked to you about the incident this summer…" she said, her voice lowering.

"Is it that big of a deal?" Gary asked, rolling his eyes.

Dawn opened her mouth to speak—he had a point. Cinderella Man excused M.W. already.

"Yes," Paul replied. "This brings me up to the next point. I advise you not to tell Misty, Ash, or anyone else."

"Why not?" questioned Dawn. "If they knew, their relationship would improve."

"We didn't know each other through some other identity. They did. And frankly it's best to let them figure things out on their own. Who knows what it can affect? Especially knowing that Misty is intelligent enough to make connections through what Ash has said," Paul elaborated.

Leaf lifted up her shoulders. "He has a point there."

"I don't know if I can lie to both Drew and Misty about this. Heck, I have no idea how to explain last night," Dawn groaned.

"Don't worry about Drew. He figured it out already," Paul revealed.

"What?!"Dawn's mouth fell open.

"I still need to converse with him about this," Paul mused. "Yes, he has a general idea of everything. And as you can see, he hasn't told anyone because he saw that there could be complications with Misty and Ash."

"Could it really be that complicated?" Dawn asked. "If they find out later, wouldn't it further complicate things?"

"That's a good point too," Leaf said, nodding.

"Maybe, maybe not-it's best to let everything fall into place naturally with them," said Paul. "I don't know how Misty took everything, but May did not take the break up well. And if you are wondering, May has completely no idea about anything. There's a reason why for that too."

Gary coughed obnoxiously, walking further into the middle of the circle. "Okay, I see where this conversation is going. Please, can all of you stop trying to pin the blame on me?" He raised his arms up, motioning them to cease their conversation.

Leaf clenched her fist. "You weren't invited to come, whatever insults you heard are deserved. It's not like we called you to bring you here and insult you."

"And stop trying to dismiss everything you've done, Gary," Dawn added. "I'm in a good mood and I don't want to further ruin it by having to lecture you."

Gary gave her a doubtful look. "Let's hope that would go better than your reaction to alcohol." He then winked as he relaxed his arms smugly.

"Why you…" Dawn hissed. "You should just leave; why was he with you yesterday anyways?"

"He's my new tutor," Leaf said miserably.

"You should change tutors," Dawn advised.

"I can't," Leaf whispered. "I need to keep an eye on him. God knows what he could do knowing all these things," she informed as she leaned in.

Gary parroted her actions. "Are you sure that's what this about, Leaf," he begged to differ.

"What else could it be?"

"Let's not go into that. Besides, you know what I mean regarding my charming personality," he said arrogantly. "I've picked up a lot about you these two days and you aren't as heroic as you want to make yourself appear."

"Two days? Wow, such extensive research. I've had years," she slurred.

"Years of observing me? Well, who's the stalker now?" Gary retorted.

Dawn felt a hand grasp hers, pulling her back gently. She swiveled only her head to see Paul. "P-Paul? What are you doing?"

"We should leave. These two argue every minute," he advised as he let go of her hand.

"Can you fill me in on what happened last night?" Dawn begged. She knew Ursula and Conway were involved and it left her drunk; the rest of the details were still a blur.

"Yes," Paul answered.

"I won't say anything to Misty or Drew… yet. I need to think about this," she promised.

"I won't demand you to stay silent. It's your choice, I just think it's best if we stay on the sidelines and let everything unravel on its own. Not that I care about any of them, but I know you do, so I figured this was a good thought you to contemplate," Paul said as his gaze averted towards Gary and Leaf arguing once more. "We should go."

Dawn nodded. "Wait…"

"Hmm?" Paul raised an eyebrow.

Dawn wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a friendly hug. Paul's eyes widened as he found himself unsure how to respond.

Gary and Leaf ceased arguing after seeing the hug. Paul saw Gary raising his arms in a hugging motion as he smirked.

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her as well; albeit some hesitance was evident.

"I'm glad I found you," Dawn said in a voice only audible to Paul. "Prince Charming," she giggled, reminding him of the nickname he detests.

"Never call me that, again," Paul said tersely as Dawn deepened the hug. He raised an eyebrow.

He…liked it? A warm sensation ran through his body. It was new, something he hadn't experienced before. He pulled away from the hug in a hurried manner. Paul lifted both hands, examining both. The feeling—whatever it was—diminished.

"Are you okay?" Dawn asked with concern.

Paul nodded, giving a voiceless answer.

He couldn't put his finger on what caused that peculiar feeling—perhaps listening to Gary and Leaf argue for two days straight was getting to his brain…

-x-

A/N: So they met. This is honestly probably around the halfway point. I found my old (and quite detailed) outline and I had this at 45 chapters? Safe to say that won't be the case. In my old one I had Paul not tell Dawn till about ten chapters later which significantly stretched the story. I decided to have it happen now, not because it shortens the story, but because Paul and Dawn are the most difficult pairing to develop and I think they need more time knowing the other than having the mysterious drag on.

As I said, finals!~ I have AP Physics tomorrow and another class but AP Physics is the big one. I'm so nervous. Wow, these chapters have been purely Ikari with some Leafgreen. Next chapter, expect pokeshipping c:

Thank you to Hoenn Master96 as always for doing a great job editing.

Ficreader: Yes, you were:D

Guest: Very unpopular opinion. And I agree with you. I wish I didn't make Brianna a villain. It's probably too late to change that but I can do some adjustments towards the end c:

Ready to Fly—Thank you! Glad you liked it

Listen—Thank you. I understand what you mean. I've been really busy with school and I wish I had more time. I feel that for this story they have to be of long length (but nothing like that 17,000 chapter I once did omg) because of developments with characters and ships. I also started the beginning slow and some of the information revealed probably wasn't needed. Though it says 18 chapters I feel like it's actually less. It's a resolution of mine to become more consist with updates though~.

RikaMae365—Aw thank you c: I like Conway as a shady character as well haha.


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